Instinct: The Sequel
by starfire57
Summary: I don't think you have to read the first story to make sense of this, but you're welcome to do it. Once again, I am basing this off of the Buffyverse, in limited capacity (i LOVE Buffy). It is definitely a more mature take on the its counterpart: Instinct.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Chosen**

"The irony is delicious, pet," the sharp-toothed creature mocks, golden eyes gleaming brightly. "It took becoming a hero for you to fall apart."

Ignoring the stinging pain in her left abdomen, the young, athletic girl runs toward her enemy.

Awaiting the girl, the vampire slightly crouches down in preparation to catch her. Upon catching her, he harshly turns the girl around, golden eyes locked onto her precious neck. Salivating, he prepares to bite the young girl's neck.

Determined, the girl, using all her might, uses a headstone to plant her feet on before pushing back.

Wincing, the creature of night looks down at the branch seeping through his heart. " _Fuck_ . . . " he utters before turning into dust.

Dusting herself off, the young girl groans in pain. Lips pursed, she lifts up her shirt.

"I didn't know you gave free shows at night," a voice teases, causing the other girl to flinch. Rolling her eyes, the tawny-haired girl immediately recognizes the voice's owner.

Making her appearance known, the dark-haired girl jumps down from a pillar. Landing on her feet, she flips her hair before making her way toward the tawny-haired girl. "You're hurt," she notes, voice soft.

" _Obviously_ ," the tawny-haired girl retorts, causing the emerald-eyed girl to crack a smile. If there was one thing Shizuru hated more than anything in the world, it was to be fooled, and this vampire had one-upped her, leading to her injury.

Fully aware of the girl's cocky nature, Natsuki delicately places her hands around the taller girl's wait. "Come here," she starts, pulling the girl closer. "Let me help you with that," she adds, now lightly running her fingers through the tawny-haired girl's toned abdomen.

Tensing, the red-eyed girl looks away from the emerald-eyed girl. "Natsuki," she begins, gently pushing away Natsuki's hands away from her. " _ **Don't**." _

Clicking her tongue, the emerald-eyed girl raises her now-free hands and takes a step back. "Fine," she snaps, placing her hands inside her jean's back pockets, as she shakes her head.

"You're mad," the taller girl notes, feeling guilty.

"Yeah. Well, I'm always mad," Natsuki retorts, scowling and avoiding ruby irises.

Resisting the urge to fight the girl on the matter, knowing all too well that Natsuki was not always mad but just had a stubborn nature, the taller girl lets it go. Too much time had already been wasted on arguing. Instead, she looks down at her wound. Not surprisingly, the bleeding had stopped. She was healing.

Stern, Natsuki meets curious infernos. "I didn't come back for you," she states, causing the taller girl to flinch.

Breath caught in her throat, Shizuru briefly looks away. "Oh?" she manages to say before pushing a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "Then, what brings you here?"

Distant emerald orbs staring blankly at the tall beauty, Natsuki shrugs.

"So you didn't come back for me," Shizuru states, as Natsuki continues staring at her. Clearing her throat and not knowing what more to say, the tawny-haired girl lowers her shirt. "Good."

Scoffing, the raven-haired girl clicks her tongue.

"Well . . . it's good to see you either way, Natsuki," the beauty manages to say, forcing a smile.

Scoffing once more, Natsuki hardens her expression. "You don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying."

Rolling her eyes, the cobalt-haired girl crosses her arms across her chest. "Whatever," she mumbles, avoiding infernos.

Once more stuck in uncomfortable and awkward silence, the red-eyed beauty briefly licks her lips.

"Look," Natsuki begins, walking away, "As much as I dig this reunion," she continues, sitting atop a tombstone. "It's that time again," Natsuki discloses, now staring at the moon. "Time for me to prove my slayer worth, I guess," she utters, rolling her eyes. To Natsuki, this was a colossal waste of time. What was the point of the Slayer Trials if she had to face slayer trials every living moment of her life. I mean, vampires, demons, werewolves, and all of the other creatures of night didn't take a break from evil. Every day, she put her life in danger. Every day, she risked dying. Every day, was a Slayer Trial.

"Oh," Shizuru utters, quickly biting her lip. "You feeling up for it?"

"Well, it's supposed to be harder than last years," Natsuki replies, shrugging. "But that's not saying much, considering that I passed last year's examination with flying colors," she discloses, cocky smile playing on her lips. "And that was all under the influence of you," she adds, searching crimson orbs, who are quick to look away. "You remember it, don't you?" she pushes, recalling how in love and intimate they used to be at all hours and minutes of the day.

Turning bright red, the tawny-haired girl clears her throat, as she scratches the back of her neck.

Amused, Natsuki smirks. "What's up with you?" she teases, fully aware that bringing up their past was not a good idea.

Scoffing, the tawny-haired girl furrows her brows. "What's up with _**you,**_ Natsuki?" she retorts, causing the other girl to roll her eyes. "How can you be so _casual_ about it?" the taller girl asks, frown deepening. Their past was in the past for a reason. And Shizuru did not like talking about it, especially with Natsuki who was stubborn, temperamental, and biased in the matter.

Last year, if it was not a given to everyone who knew her, was the worst year of Shizuru's life. Following in her late father's footsteps, the tawny-haired girl started to dive deeper into witchcraft. The stronger she grew, the easier it was for her to unlock doors that had once been sealed. Her newfound power, however, came with a price: she remembered everything. She remembered that she was once a slayer; she remembered dying; she remembered being ripped out of heaven; she remembered meeting the new slayer, Natsuki; she remembered falling in love with he dark-haired beauty; she remembered being partly to blame for Natsuki's mother's death, which was **not** under natural causes, but was, instead, caused by her ex-lover, Tomoe; she remembered dying once more; she remembered going to hell; and she remembered being brought back under false pretenses. Long story short, the universe did not want her and Natsuki together because horrible things tended to happen if they were. That much was clear.

Grunting, Natsuki looks away from mesmerizing reds. "It's not that I'm being ' _casual_ ' about it, Shizuru!" she answers, raising her voice. "I am THE Slayer, which means I don't have the luxury to dawdle over every girl I share my bed with!" she snaps, rolling her eyes and scoffing. "You're childish and naive if you think a hook-up means forever and ever," she adds, tone as icy as could be.

Jaw clenched, Shizuru is quick to control her breathing. It stung. In no world would anyone who knew them as couple would define them as a simple "hook-up."

Aware that she had hurt the other girl's feelings, Natsuki looks away and clicks her tongue. She was out of line, and she had lied. Shizuru was her first and only love. "I'm sorry for being a dick," Natsuki admits, biting the inside of her mouth; she hated apologizing. "I just have a lot on my plate."

Scoffing, Shizuru glares at the emerald-eyed girl. "I was once the slayer, too, you know," she points out, lightly shaking her head. "But never once did I take out my stress and anxieties onto others," she finishes, thought admitting that keeping everything to herself wasn't exactly healthy either. Nevertheless, she always dealt with it.

"Yeah. I know," the raven-haired girl admits, standing up. "Right up until you passed the baton to me."

Scowling, Shizuru flexes her jaw. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" she challenges, as Natsuki rolls her eyes before looking away. "I didn't intend TO DIE, Natsuki!" the beauty snaps, angry. "Nor did I intend to **BURDEN** **YOU** with becoming the next slayer!"

Clicking her tongue, Natsuki meets burning infernos. "The thing is: I didn't say that; _you_ did," she coolly states, smiling icily at the taller girl and triggering her.

"You IMPLIED it, Natsuki" the tawny-haired girl yells, taking a step closer to the slayer. "So don't even try being a little, cocky shit about it," she warns, causing the emerald-eyed girl to flinch. Shizuru rarely cursed, so when she did, she was pissed.

Feeling bad, Natsuki lowers her gaze. She knew she was being a bitch, but she couldn't help hurting the girl who hurt her.

Sighing, Shizuru pushes a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "Truth is: I know that a small part of you will _always_ blame me. Because if it wasn't for me, you would've _never_ become what you are," Shizuru admits, heartbeat decelerating. "Even before we lost our memories, I sensed your resentment."

Frowning, Natuski looks up at the taller girl. "So now you remember _everything_!?" she challenges before scoffing. "What a bunch of BULLSHIT!" she exclaims, losing her cool. "You told me that everything was in little fragments. Too obscure for you to make sense of its details."

Infuriated again, Shizuru inches the slayer, glowering at her. "THAT WAS A YEAR AGO, NATSUKI!"

Unfazed at the girl towering over, Natsuki places her hands in her pocket. "So what now?" she starts again, not breaking eye-contact. "You're suddenly Dumbledore? You're a master of witchcraft and sorcery?"

Scoffing, Shizuru balls up her fists. "What are you doing here, Natsuki?" she manages to say through grit teeth.

"I'm here for my trials."

"I mean, here as in _here-here_ ," the beauty clarifies, gesturing at the cemetery. "What are you doing?"

"Patrolling."

"Just patrolling?"

"What are you insinuating!?" the dark-haired girl challenges, scowling at the tall beauty.

Sighing, Shizuru takes a step back. She knew Natsuki well enough to know that she getting nowhere with her. If anything, she just voluntarily wasted a lot of time entertaining Natsuki's temper-tantrum. "We should stay out of each other's way," she suggests, composing herself. "After all, you have a big test to prep for."

Flexing her jaw, Natsuki looks away. She had pushed Shizuru to her limit, which was her intention, but she didn't feel any relief at all. When she doesn't sense the other girl, Natsuki searches for the beauty, only to find a gloomy yet serene cemetery sight.

* * *

One year ago . . .

Sitting across from each other, the girls playfully kick each other under the table as they study. The darker-haired girl was studying for her annual Slayer test, while the tawny-haired girl was brushing up on protective spells that she was planning to surprise her girlfriend with, despite the fact that Natsuki's best friend, Mai, had probably placed multiple and more powerful spells on Natsuki. Still, Shizuru's magic was improving rather quickly. Plus, she wanted to hep Natsuki fight the forces of evil.

"Cousin!" a redhead chimes in, eyes locked onto the grimoire that the beauty was holding. "What's up?" she asks, not taking her eyes off the old book.

Giggling after Natsuki sneaks her hand onto her abdomen, Shizuru licks her lips. "I'm sorry," she starts again, giggling once more, when Natsuki starts making faces at her redheaded cousin. "What did you say?"

"I said," Nao starts, glowering at the raven-haired girl who fights a snicker, "What are you up to?"

"Reading, _duh_ ," Natsuki mutters, causing Shizuru to burst out laughing. "I mean, she is holding a book and looking at it," Natsuki says more loudly, always up for making Shizuru laugh or smile. "That's what we call 'reading'," she teases, as Shizuru's laughter grows louder.

Biting her tongue, Nao ignores her cousin's girlfriend's remark. "Cute," she manages to say to Natsuki through grit teeth before turning her gaze toward her cousin. "What are you reading, cuz?" she clarifies, slight worry on her face. "It doesn't look like a novel," she notes, knowing exactly that the unlabeled book belonged to Patricus.

"Oh. It's just some of papa's old spells," Shizuru nonchalantly answers, turning the page. "Why?"

"N-n-nothing," Nao lies, recalling how dangerous it was for Shizuru to have any of Patricus' grimoires at hand. "I just thought he was buried with all his duty, evil books," Nao jokes, green-orbs still locked onto the leather-bound book.

"Apparently, not," the beauty answers, shrugging. "What's the big deal anyway?" she asks, noting a mixture of anxiety and worry in her cousin.

"Well, cousin, as you know," the redhead starts, pausing, "Your father did not exactly practice . . . _safe_ magic," she finishes, smiling nervously.

"I am aware of papa's run-ins with dark magic."

"I just-"

"-You worry too much, cousin," the beauty finishes, reaching out to grasp the redhead's hand. "I know what I'm doing. Trust me."

Forcing a smile, Nao scratches the back of her head.

Feeling guilty, Shizuru closes the book. "See. I can stop whenever I want."

"Yeah she can," Natsuki inputs, smirking. "Which sucks for me because she knows just how to get me going, only to stop to get her way."

Scrunching up her face, Nao shivers in discontentment.

Bursting out laughing, Shizuru grabs her cousin's hand once more. "I won't do anything you wouldn't do, ok?" she vows, as the redhead looks down at the floor. "I promise," she adds, kissing the redhead's cheek.

Standing up, the raven-haired girl yawns and stretches. "I could use a break. Shizuru?"

Breaking eye-contact with her cousin, Shizuru blushes when Natsuki gestures upstairs, which could only mean one thing. Biting her lip, Shizuru kisses her cousin's cheek before running off to her girlfriend, who easily catches her and carries her upstairs to her bedroom.

* * *

Present Day

After staking a couple of vampires, the raven-haired girl walks back to her hotel. Hands in her pocket, she freezes when she spots the ice-cream shop where she had taken the tawny-haired girl on their first date. She remembers lightly tapping her ice-cream cone on the girl's nose, right before the taller girl knocked the ice-cream cone right out of her hand. Somewhat impressed by the red-eyed beauty's tenacity, she tried to snag the girl's cone, only to have the other girl's quick reflexes prevent it from happening.

" _You're not very good at this dating thing, you know," the tawny-haired girl states, smirking before licking her ice-cream cone._

 _"Yet you're having a good time," Natsuki notes, brow raised at the sight of the other girl teasing her in the way she was eating the frozen desert._

 _Not being able to hold her laugh, the red-eyed beauty nods. "I'm having a good time because I had never had a bad date . . . It's interesting to say the least."_

 _"Which is a good thing," Natsuki guesses, trying to snag the ice-cream once more. "At least, I presume it is," she adds, cracking a smile when the beauty prevents her from stealing her frozen delight once more._

 _"It's good because you infuriate me and annoy me, but, for some reason, I like that about you."_

 _"And you say, I'm bad at dating . . . " the emerald-eyes girl utters, somewhat hurt that she annoyed the beautiful tawny-haired girl._

 _"You do realize that you purposely aim to annoy me, right?" the red-eyed beauty asks, brow raised. "I can see your little Natsuki-gears working as you attempt to get a reaction out of me," she continues, scoffing. "You find it amusing."_

 _"True. But-"_

 _"-But nothing," Shizuru interrupts, quickly shoving her ice-cream cone into the slayer's mouth. Smirking, she fetches her ice-cream cone back and licks it, as the other girl scoffs and wipes her mouth clean, in amusement._

Brows furrowed, Natsuki walks past the ice-cream parlor. London was known was to be gloomy, but the last time she found herself in the busy European city, it was anything but gloomy. Little by little she had fallen in love with the not-so-bratty, tawny-haired girl who never failed to surprise her. In fact, Shizuru was also the only girl her friends ever approved of, only now, Natsuki knew why: they felt guilty for what they did to them.

Zipping her leather jacket, feeling London's cool, night breeze, Natsuki halts when she hears a woman scream. Quickly, she takes off, heading to where the screaming originated. Not long after, a male in a ski-mask rushes past her. Scoffing, she chases after him, full-speed ahead. Ramming the male down to the ground, Natsuki punches the man, knocking him unconscious. Grabbing the purse from his limp grip, she tears off the handbag's strap and uses it to tie the man up. Shortly after, a blonde female comes into view.

Gasping, the woman looks down at the nonchalant raven-haired girl straddling her assailant. "Are you-are you okay?"

Meeting another pair of bright greens, Natsuki shrugs before handing back the handbag. "I'm guessing this belongs to you," she presumes, admiring the designer bag.

Slowly nodding, the blonde stares curiously at the dark-haired girl. "Thank you . . . "

"Yeah, no problem," Natsuki starts, gesturing at the woman to take her purse.

"R-r-right," the blonde stutters, smiling nervously at the pale-skinned girl, as she grabs her handbag. "So-"

"-I suggest you call the cops," Natsuki interrupts, standing up and stretching, revealing her smooth yet rigid abdomen, gleaming under the starlight. "Nice bag, by the way," she comments, smiling at the older woman. "It suits you," she adds, now grinning.

Blushing, the woman pulls out her phone and begins dialing the police. When she looks up, the mysterious heroine is gone.

* * *

Finding herself curled on the patio chair, Shizuru reaches for her glass of wine. Natsuki was back. At the very least, she would only risk contact with the dark-haired beauty for a couple of more days until Natsuki flew back home after her Slayer trial.

"Yo!" a voice calls out, garnering the red-eyed beauty's attention.

Leash at hand, Nao walks over to where her cousin was sitting. Petting their family dog, Kiyohime, Nao unclasps the leash's hold on the furry dog, who is quick to address the tawny-haired girl. "Someone missed you," Nao notes, smiling at the affectionate dog, wagging its tail for Shizuru.

"I always miss her," Shizuru discloses, breathing in Kiyohime's scent before kissing the large dog. "How was your walk?"

"I wouldn't know," Nao admits, sitting down across from the beauty, as Shizuru raises a brow.

"Meaning?"

"I didn't actually walk her," Nao reveals, smirk forming. "Lorne borrowed her to pick-up a demon he's been crushing on."

"Oh," Shizuru utters, smiling whilst sipping from her wine. "How'd that turn out?"

"It didn't," Nao answers, fighting a snicker. "Turns out his crush was about as interesting as a bag of cement," she jokes, laughing. "Poor Lorne had to lie and say that Kiyohime was due any day now, so he could go home and escape his way out of that dreadful conversation."

Bursting out laughing, Shizuru sets her glass down.

"Anyway," Nao starts, searching crimson orbs. "What's up with you?"

Sighing, Shizuru tugs a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "It's that time again," the beauty starts, clearing her throat. "The Slayer Trial."

"Oh," the redhead manages to utter, looking away from her cousin. "Have you seen her?" she asks, fidgeting with her hands.

"I have."

Frowning, Nao gulps.

"I'm okay, Nao," Shizuru comforts, feeling bad for her cousin.

"You-you don't . . . you don't have to t-t-talk to-to me about it," the redhead stutters, aware that anything Natsuki-related was a sensitive issue between the two.

"I'm not mad anymore," Shizuru states, sighing. "I don't think I was ever mad at you, really."

"B-b-but you left . . ."

"I was angry at my past, and how that past affected my future."

"You mean, your future with Natsuki," Nao clarifies, gulping.

Sighing, Shizuru reaches for her glass of wine again. "It's for the best," she admits, chugging her wine down. " _Everything_ we have done has been for the best," she adds, standing up.

"Shizuru?"

"I'm going to bed," the beauty announces, smiling weakly at the redhead. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Nao parts, feeling guilt taking over her again.

* * *

Entering the hotel, Natsuki strips off her jacket as she nears her hotel room. Tensing, she freezes when a door swings open.

"How was," a familiar voice starts, causing the dark-haired girl grit her teeth. "How was, um, your first day back in, um, London?"

Turning around, Natsuki locks eyes with an afro-haired man who pulls out a handkerchief to clean his glasses. "Okay, I guess."

"Were you, um, out . . . patrolling?" the man asks, leaning against the hotel wall, as he wipes his glasses.

"I ran into her," Natsuki answers, instead, causing her watcher to tense.

Pausing his cleaning, the man smiles nervously at the slayer. "Did you now?" Sakomizu asks, fidgeting and crumbling the handkerchief in his hand. Word of Shizuru leaving was common knowledge; word of her returning to London was not.

No," Natsuki admits, furrowing her brows. "But I'm fine."

Sighing, the man places his hands in coat's pockets. "Um, Natsuki?" the plump man begins, tone soft. "I'm aware that I am the last person you would talk about-"

"-6 o'clock tomorrow?" the emerald-eyed beauty interrupts, as the afro-haired man's face turns somber.

"Um, yes."

"Okay," Natsuki replies, crossing her arms across her chest. "Goodnight," she adds, walking away and entering her hotel room.

"Goodnight," her watcher mutters, sighing as the door closes. Taking out the handkerchief once more, he goes back to cleaning his glasses. Life was never fair. Duty had called them: a watcher and slayer protecting the world from the evil forces of darkness. At least in his case, he was trained and conditioned at an early age, fully aware of his role in this world, of his destiny, as did all watchers. Natsuki, however, was not so lucky. It was pure chance. She led a normal teenage life, right up until she was called; she was chosen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: All Things Must Die**

Tossing and turning, the raven-haired girl sighs. She was going insane, staring at the same ceiling patterns. Frustrated, she gets out of bed and paces the room. It had almost been a year since the tawny-haired girl broke up with her.

"Almost a year," she utters before scoffing, "And it still HURTS!" she exclaims, breathing shallowly. Closing her eyes, she tries to find her inner, slayer peace. On one of her many adventures, Natsuki trained with Eastern monks to help her gain more control of her slayer powers and abilities. It was all very similar to Tai Chi, except it addressed complications that arise from having a tremendously unique power. Upon starting to meditate, however, images of tawny hair, bright crimson orbs, and very kissable lips flash before her eyes. Agitated, the dark-haired girl balls up her fists. The old Natsuki would have thrown a tantrum and trashed her hotel room, but the new-and-improved Natsuki knew better. At least now that she knew what was causing such pent-up, underlying trauma, she had better control of her emotions and better control of her body, which was just about the only good thing to come out of Shizuru's journey to the truth. Everything else got worse.

Grabbing her hoodie, the raven-haired girl slips it on over her sport's bra and zips it up. Quickly, she puts on her sneakers and heads toward the window. Opening it, she jumps down and deescalates her way down the six stories. Jumping down the last floor, she lands swiftly on the asphalt. Stretching and flexing her muscles in anticipation of a thrill-seeking night, she takes off jogging.

And it does not take long for her to figure out where her instinct was leading her; she was heading toward the large, 3,000 acre estate that now belonged to the tawny-haired girl.

* * *

Feather hovering above her face, the red-eyed beauty, sighs. Breaking her concentration, the feather falls gently on her face. Swiping it away, she rolls over once more in her bed, now facing her nightstand. It was almost three in the morning. Fluffing her pillow, she attempts to fall asleep once more. Not being able to, she sits up.

" _Incendere_ ," the beauty commands, as her bedroom's fireplace ignites with fire. Watching the flames dance, she recalls the night that she deciphered one of her father's hardest spells. It was late, much like now, and she was in Belgium, visiting an old family friend, who also happened to be a powerful wiccan. Together, they continued Shizuru's research, leading them to an expedition to Cairo, which led them to a cavern in the outskirts of the famous Egyptian city. While exploring the cavern, they came across hieroglyphic patterns that were similar to those in Patricus' grimmoire. Finally, the encrypted message made sense: Patricus had opened a portal to another realm.

"A portal to hell," the beauty utters, shivering from fright, remembering the torture that she underwent. Closing her eyes, she breathes in and out. " _Vetsche invadoria disp_ -" she starts before cutting herself off. "No . . ." she whispers, not completing the mental banishing spell. She did not want to forget . . . again. She had to remember everything, even if it meant remembering her time in hell.

After discovering that her father had created a portal to the hell dimension and how he had nearly died trying to get her back to earth, Shizuru became obsessed and consumed in finding the truth. Thus, unbeknownst to everyone, including her girlfriend, she began researching and putting together the fragmented pieces that were once her life: her **real** life. Finally, she confronted the one person she knew could never lie to her: her cousin, Nao. And that is how the truth came out, how the broken pieces that she had collected in her research finally began making sense. As she grew stronger, the less vague her flashbacks were, thus becoming permanent memories of her past.

Appalled, after discovering how her presence had inflicted so much pain and death to others, she packed her bags and ran away. Not long after, everyone went on a search-frenzy to find her, but only one person was able to find her.

 _"Why did you leave me?" the raven-haired girl asks, emerging from the shadows._

 _Breath caught in her throat, the tawny-haired girl pulls back the hoodie from her head. Licking her lips, she looks down at the campfire; she should have known Natsuki would find her. Not knowing what to say, the tawny-haired beauty runs a hand through her hair._

 _Noting an unfamiliar mark on the girl's wrist, the raven-haired girl raises a brow. "Everyone is looking for you," she starts, studying the beauty. "Everyone **has** been looking for you." _

_Clearing her throat, the red-eyed beauty picks up a stick and pokes the firewood, giving new life to the flames._

 _Using all her strength to keep herself calm, the dark-haired beauty takes a long breath before finally speaking. "So what? You're just going to ignore me?"_

 _Frowning, Shizuru shakes her head. She wanted to talk to Natsuki; she just didn't know how, not after remembering all the pain she had caused her._

 _"Look, I didn't come all this way, to other side of the hemisphere, for the silent treatment," the emerald-eyed girl presses, taking a step forward and causing the other girl to flinch. Halting, the emerald-eyed beauty kneels down to be at eye-level with the other girl._

 _Briefly meeting piercing greens, the red-eyed beauty looks away, recalling Natsuki's distraught face the night her mother died because of Tomoe, her ex-girlfriend._

 _"I'm not going away, Shizuru," Natsuki states, jaw clenched. "Not until you talk to me."_

 _Sighing, the crimson-eyed beauty swipes strand of tawny hair away from her face. "Nao didn't tell you?" she finally manages to say, avoiding intense greens._

 _"Nao told me everything."_

 _Flinching, Shizuru, though hesitant, finally locks eyes with burning emeralds._

 _Brows furrowing, Natsuki notes another mark above the girl's left eye. "Who did that to you?" she asks, face inching the taller girl who is quick to back away. Scoffing, Natsuki leans back._

 _Realizing that the pale beauty must be staring at her recent battle scar, the tawny-haired girl clears her throat before looking back at the campfire. "Werewolf," she answers, as images of Takeda, Natsuki's best friend who also happened to be a werewolf, flash in her mind. Face falling and heart decelerating, she also recalls how Takeda died protecting her. Throat feeling heavy, she runs a hand through her hair._

 _"Look, I understand **why** you ran away," Natsuki starts, garnering the beauty's attention. "Really. I do," Natsuki assures, pausing. "I mean, I knew something wasn't right. I noticed how distracted you were and how you frequently lost yourself in books, only to come out more lost in the real world," the emerald-eyed girl recalls, feeling guilty for ignoring her girlfriend at the first sign of trouble. "What I don't understand is why you didn't say goodbye to me," she confesses, scowling. "You didn't even had the decency to break-up with me," she adds, scoffing. Standing up, feeling her slayer angst coursing through her, she clicks her tongue. "I had this whole script planned out for when I found you," Natsuki discloses, crossing her arms across her chest. "But now that we're here, I don't see it playing out . . . truthfully, you don't deserve it," she admits, searching solemn crimson orbs. "In fact, I don't think you'd even care," she adds, causing the other girl to internally wince. Feeling sightly better, the slayer exhales loudly. "Shizuru . . . I came to make sure that you're alive and to say goodbye."_

 _"Goodbye?"_

 _"Yes. Goodbye," Natsuki verifies, briefly looking away. "Goodbye Shizuru."_

 _"Wait! You're leaving!?"_

 _"Yeah," Natsuki answers, flexing her jaw. "I can finally stop worrying about you. I can finally stop fearing that you're lying in a ditch somewhere. And I can finally move on."_

 _Looking back at the flames, the tawny-haired girl tugs a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "Natsuki," she starts, standing up. "I drove you crazy," she discloses, searching distant emeralds. "Both before and after my death, I drove you crazy."_

 _Rolling her eyes, Natsuki grinds her teeth. "You know," the dark-haired girl starts, inching the taller girl, who is quick to back away. "The common denominator in our lives has been that people keep making choices for us."_

 _Lowering her gaze to the dark-haired girl's lips, Shizuru quickly looks away._

 _"One would think that **you** , out of all people, would understand, but you don't."_

 _Meeting emeralds once more, Shizuru furrows her brows._

 _"YOU made the choice that it was better for us not to be together. Do you understand that?" the emerald-eyed beauty probes, face rigid and cold. "Do you understand how YOU made the choice for ME."_

 _"If you knew-"_

 _"-All I know is that you're no different from everyone in this world! You expect so much of me. You expect me to be strong. You expect me to be rational. You expect me to be the Chosen One. But you don't expect me to be human. To have heart. To want a normal life. To fall in love. To go through heartbreak."_

 _"DON'T play that card on me, Natsuki!" Shizuru scolds, angry. "I was a Slayer, too! I know all too well the burden of that duty!"_

 _"And yet you did what you did," the dark-haired girl rebuts, scoffing. "You know how lonely being the slayer is, so don't pretend that you don't understand my perspective in all of this."_

 _"Of course, I understand," Shizuru sympathizes, still glowering at the shorter girl. "So is that it?" she challenges, smiling thinly. "You came all this way to say that to me?" she continues, as the other girl scoffs. "Because if so, I am tired. And I'd like to get some sleep."_

 _Clicking her tongue, Natsuki pulls out her cell._

 _"There's no reception here," the beauty states, heartbeat accelerating. "I can fix you up an area to sleep," she adds, looking back at her tent and feeling her blood rise. "At least for the night."_

 _"I'm not staying," Natsuki nonchalantly replies, slipping her phone into her back-pocket._

 _"You're not?"_

 _"Nope."_

 _"Where are you-"_

 _"-Goodbye, Shizuru," the pale beauty parts, disappearing into the shadows._

 _Angry with herself at how she handled the situation, Shizuru brings the hoodie back up to her head. Hugging herself, she sits down by the fire. She definitely knew a thing or two about loneliness._

Shaking her thoughts away, Shizuru finds that everything in her room was levitating. Absentmindedly, she must have evoked her telepathic powers. Carefully, she sets everything down before getting out of bed. Walking toward her bedroom window, she sits on the window-sill. She may have returned to London, but she was still very much distant towards everybody. Nobody understood her. And the one person who came close to understanding her was the one person she had to stay away from. Natsuki was the active Slayer. The world needed her; and given their history, Shizuru would only rob the world of a true protector if history repeated itself. As much as it hurt her and as much as she hated having Natsuki hate her, Shizuru knew it was for the best. Slayers were, after all, blessed with extraordinary power but also enveloped with death. All things must die.

* * *

Stopping several feet from the gated residential, the dark-haired girl steps back. This was not a good idea. Hands inside her jacket's pockets, she looks up at the bedroom that belonged to her ex-girlfriend. The lights were on. Narrowing her eyes at the lit window, Natsuki contemplates checking-in to make sure that Shizuru was alright; however, given the fact that her ex-girlfriend was once a slayer and that she was now a powerful witch, Natsuki stops herself. Shizuru was more than capable of taking care of herself. Perhaps that was the underlying issue between them: the tawny-haired girl didn't need her.

Sighing and looking away from the window, Natsuki steps back from the gate. Solemnly, she walks away from the neighborhood and finds herself roaming the streets of London once more.

After patrolling the cemetery for the third time that night, Natsuki decides to check-out other shady areas. Luckily for her, she finds an old apartment complex with cardboard panels at every window and opening.

"Bingo," she says to herself, pulling out her stake and stealthily entering the abandoned building.

Unsurprisingly, she finds a vampire nest of about six undead creatures. Smirking, she approaches the nearest one, a female of about twenty years of age, at least in human years, who is seemingly having a bad dream.

Kicking at something in her dreams, the female vamp is awakened by cloud of breath tickling her cheek.

"Boo," the slayer whispers, as the vampire snarls and bears its fangs. Quickly, Natsuki stakes the girl, turning her to dust.

Waking up to his partner's snarl, a male vampire growls, thus waking up the other four. Not long after, all five vampires encircle the slayer. Growling and spewing saliva, the vampires corner the dark-haired girl.

"Hello, hello, poppet," a male greets, licking the tip of his fangs. "I'm not typically a morning person, but I NEVER turn away breakfast in bed," he flirts, checking the slayer out.

Smirk growing, the dark-haired girl continues to back away, until she hits a wall.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," a female vampires mocks before giggling at the emerald-eyed girl. "Pretty li'l girl, ain't she?" she notes, making biting and growling noises.

"We've got you cornered, silly girl," the eldest of the vampires states, straightening out his leather trench-coat.

"On the count of three?" Natsuki suggests, as the vampires look at each other in confusion.

"It's no fun withou' de chase!" the female vampires whines, stomping her feet. "I wan' her to suff'r!"

"Easy, Alice," a blonde male starts, brow raised at the slayer. "Do you want to die, child?"

"I don't think I am the one doing the dying here," Natsuki replies, gesturing at the horde of vampires.

Breaking out laughing, the vampires lick their lips as they close in on the emerald-eyed girl.

"Any final words, my darling girl?" the eldest teases, rolling back his shoulders.

"Hmm . . . how about, _mornin'!'_ " the dark-haired girl exclaims, elbowing the wall and allowing a ray of sunlight into the room, which causes the vampires to jump back, scurrying off to the darkness. Quickly, she turns around and kicks a good chunk of the wall down, causing the vampires to rampage around the room, on fire, before turning to dust.

After clearing out the nest and scoping out the rest of the abandoned building, Natsuki finally starts walking back to her hotel. Coming in after sunrise, the slayer is not surprised to find her watcher waiting idly by the lobby. Rolling her eyes, she makes her toward the plump, afro-haired man.

"Ah," the man utters, pulling out his handkerchief. "Just getting in?" he asks, taking off his spectacles and cleaning them with his handkerchief.

"Couldn't sleep," Natsuki explains, avoiding eye-contact.

Halting his cleaning, the plump man purses his lips. "Why don't you, um," he starts, putting his glasses back on. "Why don't you sleep in?" he suggests, clasping his hands together.

"What about my Slayer Trial?"

"Your examination isn't until the evening," Sakomizu replies, meeting curious emeralds before lowering his gaze. "You should go ahead and sleep . . . Yes, you must be well-rested for this-this, um, this, um, thing."

"You mean, my Trial," Natsuki fills-in, brow raised.

"What?"

"The thing," Natsuki answers, studying the man, "The 'thing' as in my Trial."

"Ah yes," the man mumbles, entering a deep pensive state.

"Yeah. Um, okay?" the raven-haired girl remarks, not sure what was bothering her Watcher. "I guess, I'll see you later," she parts, taking one last look at the distracted man. Perhaps he, like everyone in their circle of friends, felt uncomfortable with the whole Shizuru thing, especially since Natsuki mentioned she had run into the beauty.

Looking away from the watcher who comes out of his trance to look up and smile nervously at her, Natsuki awkwardly smiles back before heading up to her room. Entering it, she lets herself fall onto the bed. All things considered, seeing Shizuru again, was not as horrible as she had imagined it to be. Sure, it was still painful, but she was happy to see the tawny-haired girl alive and well and back in London and not in the middle of nowhere in Honduras. Plus, according to multiple accounts and to secret conversations that she overheard her friends having at her discretion, Natsuki heard that Shizuru was an all-powerful and exceptional wiccan, which was astounding, considering she still had remnants of her old slayer powers, apart from telepathic abilities. Closing her eyes, Natsuki falls into a deep slumber and is awakened by an all-too familiar voice that sends shivers down her spine.

"Natsuki, honey?" the voice calls out. "Natsuki?" the voice presses, gently stroking raven strands.

Confused and blood-pressure high, Natsuki opens her eyes and is met with similar emeralds orbs, much like hers, hovering above her.

"Honey," the raven-haired woman scolds, clicking her tongue. "You're going to be late."

"M-m-mom?"

* * *

Reading her old journal entries, Shizuru stops at a picture of her father and her on a fishing trip in Scotland. Rumor had it was that Scotland was the home of the elusive and beloved Nessie, or the lochness monster, as it was famously nicknamed. Naturally, her father and she flew to Scotland to investigate and to determine whether Nessie was folklore rooted in fact or pure fiction. Interestingly, it turned out that Nessie was very much real, except for the fact that she was once a demon who was cast out to sea as punishment for failure to lure sailors, for sacrificial purposes, to feed to an ancient deity. And because Nessie posed no threat, Shizuru and her father let her be, although they took some of her scales in case they needed an essence of the sea ingredient for future spells. Eyes locked onto her father's ginormous grin, Shizuru skips forward to the entry of her father's funeral. Clipped to the page was the invitation for the ceremony, along with the obituary. On the following page, however, she found the dried-up flower that Natsuki had given her outside the bar; she had taped it to her journal entry:

[J _uly 23rd_

 _I miss papa. For months, we have been saying our goodbyes, so I thought I was physically and mentally prepared to handle his death. I was **WRONG**_. _I am miserable, and the only time my misery is lifted is when I lock eyes with the mysterious slayer that everyone raves on about. I don't get it. Sure, she is beautiful, and she is quite capable and athletic and gifted, but she's **RUDE**. Not to mention, she's **INCREDIBLY** **VAIN** and **SELF-ABSORBED.** She can be sweet though. Like tonight, she was not her usual egotistical, shallow self. She was actually somewhat charming and demonstrated signs of basic human decency. She gave me this flower. It was rather corny, but I think corny suits her. I mean, she did not annoy me, like she usually does when she rants on about her kills or conquests. Maybe, I've been too hard on her. Maybe, I haven't properly given her a chance to get to know her. Maybe, she's not as one-dimensional as I presumed. I mean, she does save the world time and time again, and she does have a lot on her plate. Maybe, I should be more conscientious of her situation. Maybe, **I'M** the judgmental one. Maybe, I'm . . . OH GOD! Do I like her?!]_

Sighing, Shizuru closes her journal. She had her shot. She had her second chance at normalcy, but she willingly traded it in search for the truth, which led to eternal misery.

As she recalled it, shortly after she was called to be the Slayer, she hated it. For years, she prayed that her family's Slayer line would skip her, but it didn't. Having been raised and conditioned to be a Slayer, all Shizuru ever wanted was a normal life. She wanted to date. She wanted to focus on her studies. She wanted to be a cheerleader. She wanted to graduate high school. She wanted to go to college. She wanted to marry and to grow old with someone. But as fate would have it, it was not in the cards for her. Meeting Natsuki changed that. Finally, she had found someone that understood her to her core. But above all, she found someone that loved her for exactly who she was and who she loved for exactly who Natsuki was. Then, she died, and it changed everything.

Her father, however, gave her the greatest gift of all: a second chance at normalcy. Sure, he created fake memories, but at the very least, they were the fake memories that she wanted and that she needed. Not to mention, it gave her the chance to date, to go to college, to go to the movies, to travel, and to fall in love.

But the truth was more important; it was something she could never take back nor wanted to forget. She had to remember. She had to carry the burden of knowing her destiny. And no matter what, she could not have Natsuki. History was bound to repeat itself. She had died twice now to know that she was not immortal. But it took dying for the second time to know how fragile slayers really were. Slayers are bringers of death, and, sometimes, it is unwelcome deaths, like those of friends and family that are caught in the crossfires. Thus, being with Natsuki made her a target. And even though Shizuru was more than capable of taking care of herself, she knew death all too well. She also knew Natsuki. She knew that no matter the circumstance, Natsuki would blame herself if anything happened to her. And Shizuru, having regained her memories and being told the cold, hard truth, already knew what would happen next: Natsuki would go mad and put the world at risk if she was unable to perform and carry out her sacred Slayer duty.

"All things must die," the beauty says to herself, recalling her father's final words to her. "All things must die."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Cold**

Smiling at the girl, the emerald-eyed woman looks fondly at the slayer. "Honey, I get that you have a girlfriend now, and that you may feel uncomfortable sharing your personal life with your mother," she begins, folding the raven-haired girl's blanket. "But sweetie, I just want you to know that I support you and whoever you're in love with, even if it means that I have to learn to cook vegan food or whatever diet you and your girlfriend are into."

Slowly sitting up from bed, Natsuki studies the woman tidying up her room. It sounded like her mom; it looked like her mom; and it even acted as adorably erratic like her mom. But Natsuki knew that her mother was dead.

Picking up a shriveled hoodie and neatly setting it atop the armoire, the middle-aged woman meets similar, piercing greens that are very much like her own.

"Honey, are you sure you're okay?" Saeko presses, narrowing her gaze on the girl. "WAIT. You're not like . . . pregnant or anything, right, honey?!" she guesses, sweat starting to form in her forehead. "I mean, you told me you were gay, and I'm quite sure that lesbians cannot impregnate each other, unless . . . " Saeko continues, face growing pale. "Was it-was it just a phase? I mean, if it was, you were really into it, considering how many times I walked in on you and Shizuru. . . . " the woman rants, placing a hand on her hip. " Well . . . all in all, I did my part as a caring mother," she continues, as Natsuki scrunches up her face. "I supported my baby angel. I attended the parent/community meetings; I read the literature; and I even got that bumper sticker to show off how beautifully special you are! Plus, I really liked the idea of having another daughter . . ." Saeko admits, face falling. "But if you're no longer attracted to girls, I _guess_ , I can support your heterosexuality, too," Saeko concludes, sighing as Natsuki's frown deepens. "Baby?" the woman calls out, searching emeralds. "Honey, are you feeling okay?" the raven-haired woman asks, rushing to feel the young girl's forehead. "You are a little warm, tiger," she notes, worry masking her face.

"I'm-I'm fine," Natsuki manages to say, recoiling at the woman's touch, being cautious.

"Sweetheart, you look like you've seen a ghost," Saeko comments, head cocked to the side.

Tensing, Natsuki brings her knees to her chest and hugs them. Burying her face in her knees, she tells herself to wake up. Her mother was dead; and as it was revealed to her, Saeko was murdered by a demented witch who sought revenge against her and Shizuru. Jaw clenched, Natsuki holds a breath as the woman claiming to be her mother runs her fingers through her tresses.

"Natsuki?" the woman calls out, worry clear in her tone. "Darling?" What's wrong?"

Looking up to meet her mother's familiar, warm green irises, Natsuki's eyes immediately begin watering.

Halting her stroking, the woman caresses her daughter's cheek. "Honey?" she calls out, smiling weakly. "Princess, what's wrong?" she presses, studying the young adult. "Is it college?" she guesses, standing up. "Is it your girlfriend?" she accuses, face growing stern. "Did Shizuru hurt you?" she interrogates, getting angry.

"What? No," Natsuki answers, holding back tears. "It's just that you're . . ."

"I'm what, sweetie?"

"You're dead."

Face losing all traces of color and following some awkward silence, the woman begins to sporadically shake her thoughts away. "WHAT!?"

"You're dead," Natsuki repeats, frowning at the impostor. "You're dead," she mutters, closing her eyes and lowering her head. "You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're-"

Words caught in her mouth, the woman stands up, staring at the distraught girl. "I'm . . . I'm calling your father," the woman announces, fumbling her way out of the bedroom.

"Wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!" the raven-haired girl tells herself, hands over head.

Coming back to the bedroom, the woman cautiously approaches her daughter, sitting by her bedside. Pulling the girl closer to her, Saeko begins massaging Natsuki's back. And for the span of ten minutes, the mother cradles her daughter, until her cellphone rings.

"I'll be-I'll be right back, baby," the woman promises, breaking away from the girl. "Hi, um . . . Yes. Sorry to call you at work," Saeko begins, quickly glancing at Natsuki. "It's, um," she starts again, lowering her voice and massaging her temples, "It's happening again."

Ears perked, Natsuki looks up at her mother who is giving her a comforting yet extremely worried look.

"NO! NO! GOD NO!" her mother exclaims, hand over her heart, as she walks out of the bedroom. "THANK GOD she hasn't broken down _yet_! . . . But the signs . . . are there," she continues, sighing.

Brows furrowed, Natsuki looks down at the floor. For years, she worried her mother. For years, she lied to her. For years, she disappeared without notice, only to show up with bruises and scars. For years, she hid the biggest part of her. Perhaps, it was all the secrets and lies that killed Saeko.

"Yeah," Saeko replies, body reclined against the wall. She was clearly tired and defeated. To Natsuki, her mother never looked more frail than she did at this moment. "Yeah. I know. I know. I'll call Dr. Preston right away," she promises, closing her eyes. "Mhmm. Yeah. OK. Thank you. And. I'll, um . . . I'll see you soon," she parts, setting the phone down and sighing.

"Mom?" Natsuki calls out, heart accelerating.

"Hi sweetie," her mother replies, now leaning on the door-frame.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Smiling weakly at the girl, Saeko approaches Natsuki and reaches out to stroke her daughter's cheek. "You're confused, baby. But it is important for you to know that this is not your fault, honey. I'm . . . I'm going to help you through this," she comforts, smiling weakly. "Trust me: Your father and I are NOT leaving your side . . . not until you're better again."

"What?" the girl utters, furrowing her brows. "Better again?" she repeats, backing away from her mother's caress. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Sighing, the woman retracts her hand. "Natsuki, we've talked about this," the raven-haired woman starts, removing her glasses. "Your, uh, grandmother suffered from dementia," she discloses, looking away. "It appears you inherited it from her."

"WHAT?" Natsuki repeats, backing away and hardly hitting the head-board in her bed. Nothing was making sense. Surly, she must be dreaming.

"When you were 15," her mother starts again, rubbing her temples, "You had this . . . this ' _episode_ ' where you claimed to be a Vampire Slayer and that you fought demons, ghouls, and other forces of evil."

Emerald orbs widening, Natsuki feels her blood-pressure rising. "But," she begins, lightly shaking her head. "But I _AM_ the Slayer," she retorts, causing the older woman to sigh. "Look, I know it sounds crazy," she begins, starting to lose her vision. "But I am the Chosen One. I am THE Slayer."

Hand now covering her mouth, the older woman closes her eyes. "It's okay, honey," she starts, tiredly opening her emerald irises once more. "It's okay. We're getting through this again," her mother comforts, pulling the girl closer to her.

"NO!" Natsuki snaps, breaking away from her mother. "Something is wrong! This isn't real! **YOU'RE DEAD**!"

Tears forming in her worn eyes, the woman looks pityingly and worryingly at her daughter.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" Natsuki snaps, tears forming in her eyes as well. "YOU'RE DEAD!" she repeats, wanting to leave the house, only to be blockaded by her mother. "Move."

"Honey-"

"MOVE."

"NO," her mother says, voice firm and not budging.

Lowly growling, Natsuki eyes the staircase and jumps over it and onto the first floor. To her surprise, she does not land safely. She feels the shock and impact coursing through her body. Immediately, she tumbles down to the floor, banging her head and feeling intense pain in too many of her bones. Too in shock and too in pain to let out a sound, she closes her eyes when she hears her mother's screams echo the house. Shortly after, everything turns black.

* * *

Shortly after the break of dawn, the tawny-haired girl opens her eyes. She had fallen asleep on her desk. Putting her journal away back in its drawer, she walks to her closet. Picking out a dark floral skirt and a black blouse, Shizuru walks to her bathroom to shower.

Taking a much needed hot shower, she starts getting ready. Putting on black booties and collecting her leather, messenger bag, she walks out of her bedroom.

"Good morning, Lady Shizuru," a woman greets, smiling at the tawny-haired beauty. "Would you care for your morning tea?" she asks, as the red-eyed girl sits down at the kitchen table. "Miss Shizuru?" the woman calls out, brow raised. "Miss, I can bring your morning tea out to you in the dining room table or out in the patio . . . like I normally do."

"Sorry, what?"

"Your morning tea-"

"-Oh yes," Shizuru answers, forcing a smile. "Darjeeling. No sugar. A drop of honey. And a bit of warm milk."

"Right away," the elderly lady abides, preparing the tea. "Is . . . is everything, okay, miss?"

"Hmm?" Shizuru hums, clearly distracted.

"You seem a bit off today," the woman notes, smiling at the usually-distracted yet routinely girl. "At least more so than usual."

"On second thought," Shizuru starts, standing up. "Hold off on the tea," she instructs, smiling apologetically.

Heading towards the entryway, Shizuru is halted by her childhood friend, Leo.

"Heading out, Shizuru?" he asks, putting his chauffeur cap on.

"I'll be fine," the tawny-haired beauty instructs, walking past the tall, young man.

It was the morning of the Slayer Trial. Undoubtedly, Natsuki was busy preparing for her examination, which meant that she only had this window of opportunity to talk to Sakomizu in person. Opening the front door, Shizuru tenses when she sees the looming figures of her past.

"Uh, hi," the female starts, rubbing the back of her head before looking up at the other person.

"It sure has been a while, hasn't it?" the male greets, placing his hands in his pocket and smiling wholeheartedly. "How have you been Shizuru?"

Considering that she had ignored this pair since the truth came out, the tawny-haired girl flairs her nostrils, staring intently at an orange-haired girl and her obsidian-haired companion.

"We should have called!" Mai blurts out, laughing nervously. "Right, Reito? We should have called."

"Believe me, Shizuru," Reito starts, holding Shizuru's intense gaze, "We didn't mean to impose-"

Scoffing, Shizuru looks away from the pair. "I have somewhere to be," she states, meeting fickle aquamarines and somber topaz irises once more.

"Of course," Reito remarks, stepping aside and gesturing the beauty to thread forward.

Gripping the strap of her bag, the tawny-haired girl walks past them and pulls out her car-keys. Getting into her black Porshe, she roars the engine to life and races off to The Watcher's Council.

* * *

Waking up, Natsuki furrows her brows when she doesn't recognize the hotel, ceiling pattern that drove her crazy the day before. Analyzing the room, she jolts out of bed. It was her old bedroom.

"Oh hi honey," a raven-haired woman greets, holding a basket of laundry. "Did I wake you up?" she asks, leaning on the door-frame.

Holding a sharp breath, the emerald-eyed girl looks away, closing her eyes. Jaw clenched so hard that she starts to feel her mouth go numb, Natsuki slowly opens her irises once more.

"Honey?" a voice whispers so close to her that she feels its breath tickle her ears.

Avoiding eye-contact, the raven-haired girl brings her knees to her face, burying herself in them. Feeling a cold hand press against her forehead, Natsuki tenses.

"You are a little warm," her mother states, retracting her hand.

Meeting similar emeralds, Natsuki takes in her mom's features.

"Hey you," her mother greets, grinning. "Not feeling alright, baby?" she guesses, reaching for the girl's hand.

Slowly shaking her head, the raven-haired girl looks down at their intertwined hands. Her mother's touch was cold to the bone.

* * *

Sighing, Shizuru steps out of the vehicle. The Watcher's Council was at the heart of London, hidden under plain sight. Its structure was in pristine condition, considering how ancient the building actually was.

"One of the many perks of magic, I guess," the tawny-haired girl utters, slinging her bag across her torso. Arms wrapped around her torso, Shizuru enters the dreaded building where older men and women had a history of physically and emotionally Slayers by forcing them to undergo Slayer Trials; it was really barbaric and demeaning if you thought about it.

Greeted at the front desk by a young man studying an old text, who probably was, without a doubt, a watcher-in-training, Shizuru walks past the boy.

"H-HEY!" the young man calls out, chasing after the tawny-haired girl. "YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED-"

Gripping the boy by the neck, the beauty glares at the boy who turns red.

"Oh."

Letting go of the boy, Shizuru continues on her way to the conference room.

Arriving, she attempts to open the door, which is, not surprisingly, locked. Banging on the heavy wooden doors, Shizuru grinds her teeth when a green light flickers, allowing her entry to the room.

"Miss Fujino," a male greets, setting the phone down. "Please," he gestures, pointing to a chair, as he casually sits at the edge of the round-table.

Red eyes targeting an afro-haired man, Shizuru walks over to the plump watcher, who takes off his spectacles. "Sakomizu."

Clearing his throat, the man clumsily slips his glasses back on. Meeting intense infernos, he smiles weakly at the tawny-haired beauty. "I-I didn't realize you'd, um, stop by."

"Don't engage her, Kaiji," the man from before imparts, as the beauty turns to glare at him.

Holding his ground, the man in the grey-suit adjusts his tie, never once breaking eye-contact with the ex-slayer. "What brings you here, Miss Fujino?"

"How about the fact that you're breathing," the tawny-haired girl answers, causing an unfamiliar woman in the room to go into fits of coughing.

"Alert the building, Jacques," the brunette suggests, looking between the other males.

"No need," the man with icy blues answers, smiling thinly at the young girl. "Miss Fujino will not lay a finger on us. Isn't that right, slayer?"

"Ex-slayer."

"The sacred duty of a slayer only ends at the cost of the slayer-in-question's life," the woman counters, stepping forward.

"Funny," the tawny haired girl starts, scoffing, "Because I've died TWICE."

"That's, um," Sakomizu begins, while cleaning his glasses, "Quite true."

"Regardless," the man in the grey suit starts, clasping his hands together, "The fact that you still have slayer powers bestowed upon you binds you to your sacred Slayer duty."

"Saving the world is no easy feat," the woman inputs, standing tall, hands behind her back. "But a higher-power chose you as its champion, just as it has chosen to grant you life in two more occasions," she presses, narrowing her gaze on the red-eyed beauty. "Your circumstances are rather . . . aberrant," she admits, smiling thinly, "So much so that there is no precedent on record for the situation we find ourselves in. But no matter, we must thread forward and play our part in protecting the world from the evil forces of darkness."

"WE!?" Shizuru repeats, scoffing. "I'm sorry but have you ever even seen a vampire? Have you ever killed one? How about a demon? Or troll? Or werewolf? Or anything that is not a silly illustration in a musty book or a creature safely contained in quarantine?"

"We've all had our-"

"-Limited experiences," the man called Jacques interjects, smiling politely. "You've had a Watcher before, have you not?" he questions, icy blues locked on fiery reds. "You Slayers are the sword; and us Watchers are the armor. With your strength, your skills, and our knowledge, we are the key to the future of humanity."

"However," the woman interrupts, playing along, "If separated, a Slayer without the guidance and wisdom of her Watcher, wields a double-edged sword without the protection of said-armor."

"Again," the beauty starts, flexing her jaw. "What do any of you know about slaying!?" she probes, receiving silence. "You're **not** the ones putting your life on the line! You're **not** the ones who dive in, head-first, to any sign of trouble! You're **not** the one's who are robbed of a normal life at inopportune time! And you's surely **not** the ones who **DIE**!" she exclaims, as Jacques and the brunette stare blankly at her, while Sakomizu lowers his gaze, fidgeting with the helm of his coat. "Isn't that the way it is!? One slayer dies, another is awakened! Who cares if the poor girl was only 15!"

"Miss Fujino, details on this matter-" the woman starts before the crimson-eyed girl picks up and lunges a letter opener at her, barely missing.

"Now now," the man in the grey suit begins, locking eyes with the beauty, "No need for savagery," he continues, smiling coyly. "Despite the turn of events, this is . . . rather _typical_ for Watchers when they meet their Slayers," he jokes, chuckling and using his handkerchief to cover his mouth, as he laughs.

Tense, Shizuru flexes her jaw. "Pardon?"

"I believe now is a good time as any," the man utters, putting his handkerchief away and folding it neatly into his suit-pocket. "When we heard you had retained your memories, we voted it to decree that you were to be activated as Slayer once more, all under the guidance of the lovely Ms. Glynda," he finishes, gesturing at the brunette. "Miss Fujinio, I'd like to formally introduce you to your new Watcher."

* * *

Waking up to the voice of her mother again, Natsuki starts to piece the pieces together. Time worked differently wherever she was; her mother never recalled the previous day. Each day began differently but ended the same. The beginnings were always similar to each other; her mother was tidying up her room; or she was holding the laundry basket; or she was talking on the phone; or she was coming to her with a breakfast tray; or she was running late to some meeting. Either way, she always wound up checking-in on Natsuki.

Afterward, the girl would suffer some sort of meltdown. Each day, however, the meltdown lasted for a less amount of time than the day before. Then, Natsuki would spend the rest of the day with her mom. At night, Saeko would kiss her goodnight before going to her bedroom. Natsuki would always follow her mom but never had the courage to enter her mother's bedroom. Then, she would fall asleep and wake up to another scenario; it was, without a doubt, a loop of some sort.

"Honey?" her mother calls out, feeling her forehead.

Already used to her mother's cold touch, Natsuki smiles halfheartedly.

"You are a little warm," her mother states, as she did every morning in the time-loop of hell. "Are you alright, baby?"

"Some warm milk would be nice," Natsuki states, as her mother slowly rolls her eyes, smiling.

"I'm starting to think you're a little too spoiled," her mother starts, standing up. "Ice princess, right?" she asks, smirking. "Isn't that what your friends call you?"

Rolling her eyes, Natsuki smiles.

"Only because I love you," her mother parts, leaving her daughter's bedroom.

Hearing her mother descend the staircase, Natsuki stealthily makes her way to her mother's bedroom. Hand on the door-knob, she takes a deep breath. Opening the door, she is blinded by a white light. Suddenly, she finds herself in the living room. There is broken glass everywhere. Looking at her feet, a pool of red surrounds her.

Heart decelerating, Natsuki hears a whimper that splits her heart in two. Eyes stinging, she takes a step forward. A pale and bloodied hand, wrist, and arm come into view. Silver bracelet catching her eye, Natsuki recognizes the charm bracelet that her grandmother had given her mom several Christmases ago. Tears starting to form, the girl slowly threads forward, tensing when she locks eyes with dull, lifeless emerald orbs.

"It doesn't have to be this way, honey," a voice states, causing the girl to tense.

Looking up, Natsuki sees her mother, dressed in a white gown, glowing with life.

"Stay with me," her mother pleads, smiling softly at the raven-haired girl.

Resisting the urge to run to her mother for a hug, Natsuki looks back down at the now-rotted corpse of her mother. There were earthworms, maggots, snakes, and beetles crawling all over her.

"We can start again, Natsuki," Saeko suggests, smile softening. "It could be just us in this world . . . Just you and me, baby."

"You're dead," the emerald-eyed girl whispers, closing her eyes and balling up her fists. _You're dead._

"I am only dead if you go back," her mother replies, floating to her daughter's side. "That world doesn't deserve you, my special girl," she continues, stroking the pale beauty's raven strands. "Stay with me," she pleads once more, finger lifting the girl's chin. " _Stay_."

Embracing her mother, Natsuki inhales the strange scent of sulfur and dirt. "I love you," she manages to say, tightening her hold on her mother. "And I miss you," she confesses, voice cracking, as tears escape her eyes. "God, how I miss you," she adds, breaking away. "But you're dead," she finishes, snapping her mother's neck.

Blinding bright light flashing, Natsuki raises her forearm to cover her face.

* * *

Door bursting open, a young girl enters the conference room.

"Dolores?" Jacques calls out, brow raised.

"She's awake, sir."

"Wonderful," Jacques answers in delight, as the young girl frowns. "Dolores?" he asks, sensing that something was not quite right.

"She's awake," Dolores starts again, pausing, "But she's unresponsive."

"NATSUKI!" Sakomizu blurts out, fumbling out of his seat.

Flinching, Shizuru tightens her grip on the strap of her bag. "What did you do to her!?" she asks, trying to control her breathing. "YOU!" the beauty starts, using her telekinesis powers to aim all sharp objects on all the Watchers and Watchers-in-training, "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO. TO. HER!?" she demands, burning daggers into the grey-suited man.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Death**

"I know what you're thinking," the plump man starts, sighing and removing his glasses. Rubbing his temples, he takes a deep breath. "But I-I-I didn't know . . . I _still_ don't know."

Scoffing, the beauty looks away from the middle-aged man.

Putting his glasses back on, he pulls out a leather pouch from his coat's pocket. "All I was told was to administer this," he says, handing the item to the beauty.

Raising a brow, Shizuru takes the pouch and opens it. Tensing, her ruby irises lock onto a syringe and onto a glowing vial. "Magic?"

"It's an organic compound," the Watcher starts, staring at the glass vial. "It has the same effect as three tranquilizers," he discloses before scoffing. "Enough for a bloody bear."

Honing in to the surrounding elements, the beauty causes the nearby streetlights to flicker and the sky to darken, as she levitates the vial. Glass cracking and shattering, the glowing, white liquid takes on a jello-like form. Separating the particles, Shizuru is able to pinpoint the exact material used to create the serum.

Lights flicking back on, glimpses of the sun coming back out, and liquid spilling down to the floor, the Watcher raises a brow at the skilled witch.

"Anything?" he utters, holding a breath.

"Nothing we don't already know," the red-eyed beauty answers, frowning.

"I'm sorry," the plump man starts, face falling and looking down at the ground. "For . . . _everything_."

Tense, the beauty meets glistening olive irises. "I forgave you a long time ago," she admits, controlling her breathing. "I understand what it's like to have a destiny . . . a sacred duty that you cannot escape."

"Nevertheless-"

"-I said that I forgave you on that count," the crimson-eyed girl interrupts, breathing carefully. "But I will **never** _forget_ what you did to me and what you did to _her_ ," the girl adds, scowling at the man. "That's the harder pill to swallow."

Taking off his glasses, the man sighs. "Evil. I can handle," he states, staring distantly at the floor. "Humanity, though," he continues, posture falling. "That's the grey area in evil."

Silent, the beauty stares at the man who quickly massages his temples before putting his glasses back on.

"When you're a Watcher-in-training, you're young and innocent," the Watcher starts, recalling his young watcher days, which consisted of puling all nighters studying in the library and practicing basic magic in the boiler room with the other watchers who thought themselves the protectors of the world. "It is not until you're activated with your assigned slayer that you realize how evil and cruel the world actually is," he confesses, sighing. "And then, one day, you realize that demons, vampires, and other forces of evil are not the only sources of pain in this world . . . you're forced to accept the imperfectness in humanity. That a demon did not drown and abuse an infant; that it was his mother, who was not possessed by any supernatural force, who killed her child by choice; that a father would ever touch his daught-" Sakomizu continues before pausing, balling up his fists; the world was too cruel and too unforgiving. "I love . . . Natsuki," the man admits, meeting swirling reds. "She is more family to me than my actual family ever was. After all, it was my family who sent me away to become what I am," he confesses, scoffing. "The Council knows how I feel about Natsuki and has used it to keep me in line."

Teeth grit, the beauty stares at the suddenly open and sensitive man.

"I admit my fault," Sakomizu starts again, holding his breath. "I'm only human . . . and I could not come to terms with her death," he discloses, eyes glistening. "She is like a daughter to me," he confesses, meeting piercing reds. "So I did what I did . . . .even if it was the most selfish thing I could ever do to her."

Taking off his glasses, the man runs the helm of his shirt through his face; he was sobbing.

"Has she," Shizuru starts, voice soft, "Has she ever wondered about her past?"

"Her past memories?" Sakomizu guesses, frowning. "She didn't want them back."

"No. I know that," the red-eyed girl replies, tugging a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "I mean, her origin. The origin of a Slayer. The FIRST Slayer."

"Hmm," Sakomizu starts before shaking his head. "No. I do not recall a conversation on the matter," he inputs, meeting bright infernos. "Have you?"

Gripping the strap of her bag, the tall beauty sighs before opening it and pulling out a heavy folder.

Brow raised, the plump man gets up from the park-bench. After the tall beauty walked out on her new Watcher, Glynda, and the Watcher's Council, Sakomizu was ordered to follow her. Agreeing on his own terms, he was temporarily relieved. Checking-in on Natsuki, who was now stabilized, he requested that he be called as soon as the girl woke up; his request was granted, considering how Natsuki actually listened to him, and he was the only one that Shizuru wanted to talk to, so, of course, the council wanted him to infiltrate the beauty and to convince her to accept her duty and her new Watcher. Sakomizu, however, was tired of putting his duty first; Natsuki was more important; she was more than a weapon to him; she was priceless.

Taking the folder, the man scopes the area. At a distance, there was a city park; children were playing in the jungle gym, while others were swinging in the swings. Surprisingly, it was a nice day in London. Most of the sun was hidden behind some clouds, giving London just the right amount of sunshine. The wind was cool but not freezing. And the grass was bursting with life.

Eyeing the first picture, the solemn man furrows his brows. "Sumerian, maybe?" he mutters before shaking his head. "I don't," he begins, removing his glasses, "I don't believe I'm familiar with this language," he admits, glancing over the text in the photograph once more. Putting his glasses back on, he flips through another page; it was another photograph of a similar text. Frown deepening, he skims through the stack of paper, stopping at a sketch. It was a dark-skinned woman; she had markings all over her face; her gaze was paralyzing, honey irises reflecting pain, torture, suffering, and anger. Her tresses were short and dark, traced with noticeable scars that ran through her cranium.

"I see her in my dreams, sometimes," the beauty admits, looking away from the sketching.

"You drew this?" the afro-haired Watcher asks, studying the girl who nods. "Who," he begins before clearing his throat, "Who do you believe she is?"

"The First Slayer," Shizuru automatically answers, wine-eyes locked at the portrait. "I'm positive of that."

Exhaling loudly, the watcher sorts the papers back neatly and hands them back to the girl. "There have been several, not a lot, but a handful of journal entries," the watcher starts, taking off his glasses and putting them in his coat's front-pocket, "Of previous watchers that address and record their Slayer's inquisitiveness over The First Slayer."

"And?"

"They describe their slayer's fixation on the matter as . . . well, um . . . _dangerous_."

"Dangerous?"

"Give a man a fish, and he eats for the day. But teach the man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime," the Watcher answers, scoffing and putting his glasses back on. "We Watchers like to think we have control of our assigned Slayer, at least in a warfare state-of-mind," he discloses, meeting reds. "But the truth is . . . you're not a weapon, and we're not your armor, as Jacques so arrogantly implied," he continues, scoffing. "Your origin came long before ours."

Frowning, the girl tugs a strand of tawny hair behind her ear.

"Before democracy. Before government. What brought order to the world?" the plump man inquires, smiling softly at the girl.

"Religion?" the girl guesses, causing the man's smile to broaden.

"Correct," he replies before clearing his throat. "Now, I want you to think of our relationship in those terms," he advises, looking away from the girl out onto the field of grass. "Demons. Vampires. Ghouls. And other evil creatures have long walked the earth before man. They're ancient. They're efficient. Arrogant, most oftentimes. But efficient killers."

Face falling the beauty, too, looks out into the field of green.

"One day, a group of clerics prayed and prayed to whatever higher power would hear their pleas," Sakomizu continues, recalling the story of how Watchers and Slayers came to be. "For centuries, mankind's call was ignored," the man states, furrowing his brows. "The higher power was teaching us to fish, you see," the afro-haired man jokes, eyes locked on a little girl being pushed by her dad on the swing. "But then came the day when mankind couldn't haul enough fish, at least, metaphorically speaking. We were just starting to understand how to battle these evil forces; we were learning how to kill them. But these ancient evils have presided as long as they have on Earth because they, too, are capable of learning . . . it is said that a group of demons, Kleynachs, slaughtered an entire tribe of villagers in what is now Nigeria," the watcher discloses, looking away from the little girl. "Paranoid, it became a common practice for tribes to offer their young as sacrifices to demons as a means to protect the village."

Growing angry, Shizuru flexes her jaw.

"When the offerings stopped working because, as you know, demons are not ones to keep their word, a sister-tribe tried something else," Sakomizu discloses, eyes locked on the little girl once more. "Because of their primitive way of life, the villagers were able to connect with Mother Nature and her elements of Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire in a way no one else had done before . . . they evoked something mystical and grandiose. A young girl, of about twelve, stepped forward and offered herself as a sacrifice to secure a future for her people," the man discloses, voice distant.

"And she became the First Slayer?"

"No," the man answers, snapping out of his trance. "She was not _chosen_ ," he continues, taking off his glasses. "But her offering. Her sacrifice. Her willpower to die for the greater good was not forgotten. In fact, it was used to forge a line of Slayers. To find qualities in young girls that would, if given a choice, choose death."

"Choose death?"

Smiling softly at the girl, the watcher puts his glasses back on. "Your instinct drives you to battle. Your heart drives you to protect. And your soul drives you to love more strongly and more passionately than anyone else in the world," he discloses, eyes glistening. "You have _so much love_ in your heart that you're drowning in it," he states, causing the girl to tense. "Don't you see, Shizuru? You will **always choose death** . . . because death means you died giving it your all . . . that you died giving it every fiber of your being because that is exactly what a Slayer does and _dies_ doing," he continues before scoffing. "You've died twice to know that by now."

Controlling her breathing and looking away, the girl feels tears forming.

"If The First Slayer is contacting you," Sakomizu continues, clearing his throat. "Listen to her. You are part of her, as she is a part of you."

Flinching, Shizuru grips the edges of the bench tightly. She had never thought of sharing her essence with someone else.

"From what journals stated," Sakomizu continues, brows furrowed, deep in thought. "Is that Slayers who made contact with The First Slayer vastly improved in all slayer areas. . . they also, um, have had a longer lifespan than those who were not contacted by her."

Frowning, the girl studies the solemn man who stares quietly into the distance. Sakomizu said that Natsuki had not mentioned anything about the First Slayer, which meant that Natsuki had not been contacted by her, which worried the beauty. If what Sakomizu said is true, then, Shizuru had just bought herself more time on Earth, while Natsuki had not. Heart decelerating, the beauty notices that the man, too, was worried. "You really do love her," she utters, quickly regretting her words.

Smiling softly, the man meets bright reds before looking away. "They're relieving me of my duty."

" _What_?!"

"They say I'm 'too fond' of the girl," he answers, scoffing. "That I look to her not as a weapon protecting the world, but as a daughter that I want to protect _from_ the world."

Sitting back down, the girl tugs a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "Is it . . . true?"

Sighing, the man leans forwards, hands clasped together. "I didn't want to do it," he answers, instead, voice firm.

"Do what?"

"Drug her," Sakomizu admits, hands trembling. "But if I didn't do it, they would find a way to do it, and then, take her," he continues, removing his glasses and massaging his temples. "At least with me doing it, I could stay close to her and make sure she's okay."

"Is she though?" Shizuru challenges, coming off as more aggressive than she hoped to be. "Is she . . . okay?"

"The Council can be cruel and their methods can be unconventional, but they are not stupid. Natsuki is an exceptional Slayer and a great asset to them."

"She's more than an asset," the beauty argues, jaw clenched.

Standing up, the plump man pulls out his pocket-watch. "I better go check-in on her," he says, putting his pocket-watch back. "Would you care to see her?"

"I don't need your permission to see her," Shizuru automatically answers, feeling old, pent-up anger forming inside of her and causing the man to look down at the floor. Rolling her eyes, she runs a hand through her hair. "I was a bit brass-"

"-But you're right," Sakmizu admits, smiling softly. "If there's one thing I know about Slayers is that you're all are too stubborn and too hot-headed," he jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

"We're not friends," the girl finds herself saying, clearly uncomfortable at Sakomizu's attempt to be friendly.

"R-r-right."

"I appreciate your input and enlightenment on the matter regarding The First Slayer, but that is as amicable as I can be to you right now."

"Fair enough."

Standing up, the beauty puts her belongings back in her bag. "I never thought I'd say this," she beings, slinging her bag across her torso, "But I agree with the Council."

Tense, the man furrows his brows.

"I do believe you love her, which is why you should resign from your duty as her Watcher," Shizuru discloses, watching the man's face fall. "You have already done an unthinkable and unimaginable thing to her," the beauty recalls, causing the man to look away, clearly in turmoil. "Now, you've drugged her up, sent her to the council who has put her through God-knows-what, and have, by affiliation, put her in a coma."

Holding his breath, the man slowly looks up to meet burning infernos.

"The worst kind of pain is not inflicted by demons, vampires, or any other forces of evil. It is the pain inflicted by loved ones that hurt the most," the girl states, tightly gripping the strap of her bag. "Walk away now, while you're still in good terms with her, and before you do something that is unforgivable and lose her forever."

"Practice what you preach," the man mutters, causing the girl to flinch. Realizing that he actually said what he was thinking, the man takes a step back. "I-I-I didn't-"

"-I'm well aware of the choice I made, but I'd rather have her hate me than ever think about killing herself," the tawny-haired girl admits, scowling at the man. "Do you remember that? Do you remember how she wanted to kill herself after I died?"

"I remember," the man whispers, paling.

"She doesn't," Shizuru challenges, tone firm. "But the fact of the matter is that you're right: I have this insatiable instinct to fight. I cannot help putting my life on the line to fight the forces of evil. It's what I do; It's what I am. I am a Slayer, and I have a life expectancy of 25."

Words caught in his mouth, the man searches swirling reds.

"I'm exactly 25, Sakomizu. So statistics are not on my side; they project that I'm going to die **very soon**. So when I do die, for the third and **final** time, I want to be at peace. I do not want to _think_ of Natsuki **killing** herself to be with me. Or that you and our _selfish_ , _arrogant_ circle of friends will do something as _stupid_ and _reckless_ as you did the last time I died. Do you understand that?" the beauty scolds, glowering at the man. "Do you understand WHY I walked away?" she challenges, causing the man to gulp. "' _Practice what you preach'_ ," Shizuru mimics, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for you and my so-called friends."

Feeling sick, the man places his hands in his pocket, fidgeting with his fingers and feeling sweat pour down his back.

"But if you love her as much as claim you do, then, _walk away_ ," the beauty imparts, leaving the watcher alone at the park.

* * *

 _"Shh" the dark-haired girl says, whilst fighting a grin. Taking her girlfriend's hand, the emerald-eyed girl leads them through a cavern. According to multiple reports, a large, reptilian lizard had been spotted in the area. Also in the area were reports of six missing college students. Last anyone heard, the young adults went camping and were never heard from again._

 _Watching her steps, the red-eyed girl furrows her brows when she hears a rustling sound. Gripping her girlfriend's hand tightly, she halts._

 _Brow raised, the raven-haired turns back to look at the pensive girl._

 _Gesturing the girl to explore the area, Shizuru lets go of Natsuki's hands and runs them by the cavern walls._

 _Cracking a smile, Natsuki leans on the cavern wall. "What are you doing?"_

 _After analyzing the wall, Shizuru examines her hands. "What YOU should be doing, slayer," the beauty rebuts, raising a brow at the little debris on her fingertips._

 _"And what is it that I should be doing?" the dark-haired beauty challenges, wrapping her arms around the beauty and inhaling the girl's scent._

 _Breath tickling her_ _ears and sending shivers down the beauty's spine, Shizuru pretends to want to break free from her girlfriend's hold. "Do your JOB, Natsuki!" she playfully commands, giggling and giving into her girlfriend's hold._

 _Turning the girl around, the emerald-eyed girl leans in closer to the beauty. Emeralds locked onto pink lips._

 _Lips beginning to graze each other, the beauty suddenly breaks away._

 _"What?" Natsuki mutters, lowly growling and opening her yes._

 _"Natsuki, the campers-"_

 _"-Are alive well," the emerald-eyed girl interjects, nuzzling the red-eyed beauty. "I cleared this nest weeks ago," she continues, leaning in for another attempt to kiss the girl._

 _Ears perked, Shizuru gently pushes Natsuki away. "Did you hear that?"_

 _"Hear what?" Natsuki asks, slightly rolling her eyes._

 _Listening intently, Shzuru furrows her brows. "I thought I heard something . . . "_

 _"Something, huh," Natsuki teases, grin forming and picking up and carrying the tawny-haired girl._

 _"Natsuki! NATSUKI!" Shizuru hisses, somewhat annoyed at Natsuki's behavior. Now was not the time for Natsuki to be her charmingly annoying self._

 _Ignoring the beauty, the dark-haired girl, threads forward, until it becomes pitch-black._

 _"NATSUKI!" Shizuru hisses once more. "What the HELL is wrong with-"_

 _"SURPRISE!" multiple voices call out, as torches ignite._

 _Setting the tawny-haired girl, Natsuki grins at the taller girl who is clearly annoyed and in shock. "Happy birthday, Shizuru!"_

 _Scoffing, Shizuru smiles awkwardly at everyone she makes eye-contact with._

 _Noticing a still and not too happy girl, Natsuki pulls the beauty closer to her. "What's going in that head of yours?" she asks, casually addressing what has been secretly bothering her for weeks. "You don't like it?"_

 _Licking her lips, Shizuru shakes her head. "No. It's not that. It's just-"_

 _"-What is it?" the dark-haired girl presses, head cocked to the side. For weeks, Shizuru had not been herself. She had been become obsessed with some sort of research that when Natsuki asked about it, her girlfriend would just shrug and say that she was studying to be a wiccan like her father. Pressing her lips on the birthday girl's cheek, Natsuki smiles encouragingly at her. "You know you can tell me anything."_

 _Blushing, the beauty tugs a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "It's just that I sorta forgot it was my birthday . . . "_

 _Snickering, Natsuki envelops the girl in a tight embrace, inhaling the girl's lavender and vanilla infused scent. "You're so weird," she remarks, kissing the girl's neck before nibbling on it._

 _"Get OFF my cousin!" a voice exclaims, smirking at the couple._

 _"Well, well, well," Natsuki begins, breaking away from the tawny-haired girl. "If it isn't Chucky, the evil little play-thing."_

 _Rolling her eyes, Nao examines her nails. "And if it isn't Elsa, the Ice Princess Lesbo."_

 _"Elsa was a blonde and a Queen, numbnuts," Natsuki rebuts, causing Nao to break out laughing._

 _"Interesting," the redhead remarks, inching the slayer. "And you've seen Frozen, how many times exactly?" she interrogates, causing the raven-haired girl to blush a deep red._

 _Fighting a snicker, Shizuru comes to Natsuki's rescue. "She watched it with me," she lies, wrapping her arm and around the dark-haired girl and reclining her head against the slayer's built shoulder. "My pick for movie night."_

 _"Bullshit," Nao challenges, narrowing her gaze on the red-eyed beauty. "I can always tell when you lie, cousin."_

 _"What's going on here, girls?" a dark-haired boy asks, standing beside Nao. "Anything new?" he asks, putting his hands in his pocket._

 _"Ooh," a girl coos, joining them. "Scoobie gang meeting?" the orange-haired girl asks, reclining against the boy, wrapping her arm over his._

 _"Bloody Americans," a male utters, hand on his cell as he nears the group of friends. All eyes on him, he clears his throat and ends his call. "Ah Shizuru," he starts, smiling shyly at the beauty. "Happy birthday."_

 _"Thanks," the beauty replies, furrowing his brows at the man who was always reluctant to talk to her or to make eye-contact with her._

 _Looking down at the floor, the man takes off his glasses. "Right . . . you're, um, present," he starts, cleaning his lenses, "Is alone-time with Natsuki for the remainder of the weekend," he finishes, putting his glasses on._

 _Brow raised, Natsuki studies the man before grinning. "Seriously!?"_

 _Nodding, the man smiles wholeheartedly at his slayer._

 _"But what about slaying?" Natsuki asks, as the man cuts her off, raising his hand.  
_

 _"Don't worry about that," the plump man assures, looking at the 'Scoobie gang', as they often referred to themselves. "We'll take care of that."  
_

 _"Most definitely!" Mai inputs, closing her eyes before opening them and snapping her fingers. Within seconds the cavern is illuminated by fireflies, dancing in the air. "Happy birthday, Shizuru!"_

 _Taken aback, the beauty smiles at the little, glowing and dimming lights encapsulating them. "Mai . . . it's beautiful."_

 _"Like you," Natsuki is quick to remark before blushing, all eyes on the slayer. Lowly growling, the raven-haired grabs the taller girl by the hand, leading her away from the group. "I know I have been a little distracted lately," the emerald-eyed beauty starts, causing the other girl to flinch. "But I want you to know that you can tell me anything, okay?"_

 _Tense, the red-eyed beauty reluctantly nods her head. If anyone had been distracted amongst the two, it was her, not Natsuki. "I know that," she lies, tugging a strand of tawny hair behind her ear._

 _Left in awkward silence, Natsuki narrows her gaze at the uncomfortable girl. Something was clearly wrong._

 _"What?"_

 _"Nothing," the raven-haired girl lies, forcing a smile. "Let's get back to the others," she adds, grabbing the girl's clammy hand._

 _Rolling her eyes at herself, Shizuru takes a deep breath and plasters on a fake smile for all her friends and loved ones. Lately, she had been having recurring dreams, except they didn't feel like dreams at all. It was almost as if she had experienced these events in a past life or something. Some people she recognized, and others, she didn't. Either way, her dreams always differed, but her nightmares always had one thing in common: the 'Scoobie Gang.'_

* * *

Waking up, the girl opens her eyes. Vision blurred, she sits up and wipes her eyes with her hands. Hearing incoming footsteps, she tenses. Heart monitor beeping, she furrows her brows, trying to recall her last memory.

"Mom . . . " she utters, clinging on to the bed-sheets.

Hearing the door open, the girl, vision still blurry, lays back in bed.

Clipboard at hand, the young nurse writes down the current heart rate. Walking over to the I.V., the nurse checks the drip bag. Everything was going smoothly. Taking out her penlight, the nurse approaches the girl, ready to open her eyes and check her pupil gauge. However, the closer she nears the girl, the faster the hear rate monitor beeps. Brow raised, the nurse doesn't have the chance to scream when a hand covers her mouth.

Implementing a choke-hold, Natsuki puts the girl to sleep. Immediately, alarms go off. Pulling out the needles in her arms, she grabs the blanket as the door swings open.

Two men in lab-coats rush in, syringes at hand.

Twisting the blanket into a lasso-like shape, Natsuki uses it swish it at the men, causing them to drop the syringes. Letting go of her tight hold, she spreads out the blanket before ramming it into the men and capturing them. Men beneath the blanket and underneath her, she grabs the syringes and injects them with it. Tensing, she hears more incoming footsteps. Listening intently, she hears six distinct footing patterns. Hiding on the other side of the door, she awaits for them to enter the room.

Cautiously peeping inside the room, the woman signals her team to halt, while she investigates from outside the door. Having no choice but to go in, she takes a deep breath before setting her foot inside. Smirking, she quickly steps back just as the door swings shut. "This is Rangers 1-0, target has been located," she speaks into the bodcam or body camera. Gesturing another hand signal, she calls two men forward, while the rest of the team clears the path.

Shield out, the two men ram into the door, bursting it open, just as the commander throws a gas grenade.

"Alpha team," the commander begins, putting her gas-mask on, "Time to move in," she adds, hand signal ready to command. "This is a simple grabbin' and baggin', Rangers," she finishes, signaling the team to move forward. Leading them, she enters the room, "Alpha team, disperse," she commands, gun at hand. "Forrest you're with me. We'll cover the left sector. Holt and Wang, cover the right sector. And Lie and Kline, cover the mid-sector from the rear."

"Understood, commander," the team says in unison, following their orders.

Using the blanket to cover her nose and mouth, Natsuki, hidden atop a shelf, buys herself more time as the gas is slowly ingested in her body. Spotting two soldiers, she jumps atop them. Quickly, she snags one their guns and bangs it on their heads, knocking them unconscious.

Tensing, the commander takes a deep breath. The target had gotten the upper-hand. Flinching, she sees her teammate, Forrest, fall down. Before realizing it, the blunt of a gun is headed her way. Moving out of the way, she rolls over. Hearing the target, she uses her foot to sweep across the floor, causing the target to tumble down. Gun at had, she takes aim and fires.

Feeling a stinging sensation in her abdomen, Natsuki pulls out the dart. _"Fuck . . . "_

Quickly standing up, the commander slowly approaches the target, finger on the trigger. Spotting a raven-haired girl, she fires another shot.

Falling to the floor, Natsuki looks up at the hazy ceiling. Figure coming to view, she grits her teeth, lowly growling.

"HQ, this Alpha Team, Rangers 1-0. Target has been captured. I repeat: Target has been captured, over," she says, slinging her gun on her shoulder before kneeling down to take a closer look at the slayer. "Natsuki Kuga . . . " the commander states, as the girl's eyes close shut.

"Alpha Team, Rangers 1-0, this is HQ," a voice on the commander's headset begins, as the young commander swipes a strand of raven hair away from the girl's face. "Bag the girl and report to HQ to await further instructions, over."

"Roger that, over," the commander responds, sighing. Pulling out a talkie, the commander scopes the room. "Rangers 1-0, Alpha team has captured the target. Unfortunately, some of us went down, so I am requesting medic services and the retrieval of Alpha Team. Over."

"Roger that, commander," a voice replies on the walkie's speaker.

Putting the walkie back, the young commander slings the slayer onto her shoulder. "Natsuki Kuga," she repeats, as she walks away. "What a funny world."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: All That Matters**

Sitting at the edge of the table, the raven-haired girl crosses her arms across her chest. Grunting, she looks down at her abdomen; it still stung from where the tranquilizers pierced through her skin.

"Slayer?" a man calls out, causing the emerald-eyed girl to roll her eyes.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Natsuki manages to say through grit teeth. "Do you have mommy issues that you project onto other women or something?"

Smiling thinly, Jacques adjusts the knot on his tie. "Congratulations, Miss Kuga," the silver-haired man starts, placing one hand inside his pocket. "You've passed your Slayer Trial once more."

"Yes," a brunette comments, garnering the slayer's attention. "Very remarkable indeed, especially considering that it was _not_ an easy feat."

"And who are you?" Natsuki asks, scoffing at the woman.

"Forgive my manners," Jacques starts, gesturing the brunette forward. "This is Glynda. She will be Miss Shizuru Fujino's new, active Watcher."

Heart decelerating and breath caught in her throat, Natsuki immediately turns to look at a plump and afro-haired man, who avoids eye-contact with her. Flexing her jaw, Natsuki takes a deep breath. "What?" she manages to day, feeling an overwhelming sense of anguish. "Reactivated?"

"Correct. Miss Fujino is to be reactivated as a Slayer once more," Jacques answers indifferent to the dark-haired slayer's distressed state. "Ms. Kuga, things . . . are about to change around here."

"And for the better," Glynda remarks, causing the raven-haired slayer to growl.

Glaring at the woman, Natsuki balls up her fists.

"Natsuki? Natsuki?" Sakomizu calls out, garnering the girl's attention and finally meeting burning emeralds. Tensing, the plump man removes his glasses. "There's, um, another matter we have yet to discuss . . . "

Frowning, the girl stares at her watcher.

Turning away from the girl's curious stare, Sakomizu turns to look at his colleagues. "May we have a moment?"

Nodding, Jacques gestures Glynda to leave the Slayer alone with her current Watcher.

Door closing, Sakomizu exhales loudly.

"What the hell is going on, Sakomizu?" Natsuki finally asks, easing.

"You may want to sit down for this," the man starts, causing the slayer to halt.

Brow raised, Natsuki studies the man. "What's going on?" she asks, searching olive irises.

"First things first," the man begins, gulping. "I want to apologize to you," he continues, not breaking eye-contact. "The Council left me no choice-"

"-We always have a choice," the dark-haired beauty interjects, glaring at the man. She was upset about way too many things as of late.

"If I didn't cooperate, they would've found a way!" Sakomizu argues, not feeling any better about what he did. "At least, if I administered it, I could keep a close eye on you."

"How?"

Meeting intense greens, Sakomizu furrows his brows. "How what?"

"HOW did you do it?" Natsuki asks, balling up her fists. "Did you sneak into my room? Did you slip it in my drink? Did you hide it in my food? Did you cast a spell? HOW?"

Flinching, the man looks down at the floor. Sighing, he looks up at the girl he called his own. "I-I," he stutters, absentmindedly reaching out to feel the syringe case in his coat pocket.

Green orbs locked on the silhouette of something, Natsuki furrows her brows. "What aren't you telling me?"

Tense, the man massages the back of his head. "I, um, injected you with a serum that the Council provided," he confesses, causing the girl to flinch. "I purposefully kept you awake before the flight here, so that when you did fall asleep after a long flight and night of patrolling, you would not feel the pinch of the needle."

Grinding her teeth, the scowls at the middle-aged man.

"Also, I'm . . . I'm stepping down as your Watcher," Sakomizu discloses, causing the girl to pale. "I'm sorry," he adds, internally wincing at the look of hurt emulating from the emerald-eyed girl.

Eyes stinging and feeling lightheaded, the dark-haired looks away from the man.

"It's-It's for the-the best."

"Get out."

Frowning, the man looks down at the floor.

"I said," the dark-haired girl begins in a low voice, "GET OUT."

Feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt, Sakomizu looks up at the slayer. Recognizing the cold, vengeful expression on the girl, the man gulps. He had only seen that look on Natsuki on two occasions: the night her mother, Saeko, died, and the night that they took on the Master in which Tate, Takeda, and Shizuru had died. Hands fidgeting in his pocket, Sakomizu takes one last look at the girl before walking out of the conference room.

Exhaling loudly once the door closes, the girl sits down on one of the chairs. Burying her face in her hands, she closes her eyes and tries to resist the urge to sob.

Light knock on the door, the girl flinches and sits up.

"Miss Kuga-"

Glaring at the silver-haired man, Natsuki stands up and walks past him.

Reaching out to grab the girl's arm to prevent her from leaving, the man quickly regrets it when burning emeralds lock onto him. Quickly letting go, the speechless man sighs in relief when the girl walks away.

"What are we to do about them?" Glynda asks, hands behind her back. Both of these current Slayers were proving to be quite the handful.

"Nothing we haven't already done," Jacques answers, placing his hands in pockets. "Slayers have long had a history to be . . . tenacious."

Cracking a smile, the brunette shrugs.

"Give the girl a couple of days to adjust to the new situation," Jacques advises, beginning to walk to their next meeting. "But when you do make contact again with Ms. Fujino, use the other girl."

Quickly frowning, the brunette slows down in her steps. "What do you mean?"

"None of these girls want the other to die," Jacques explains, smiling thinly. "Remind them of that," he adds, turning to a hallway. "That if they do not cooperate with the Council, we will not provide them with our resources, our weaponry, nor our knowledge," he continues, taking the stairs. "Severing ties with the Council will, without a doubt, endanger their lives even more, moreso than any evil they've ever faced."

"We _are_ a powerful ally," Glynda agrees, as they descend the stairs. "Internationally renown."

"And the girls know that," Jacques adds, taking the last step and extending out his hand to guide Glynda. "They need us more than we need them."

Nodding, Glynda follows Jacques to bookshelf at the corner of the room.

Spotting the musty, worn-out book, Jacques places his thumb at its spine. Sound beeping, the shelf splits in two, revealing a secret entryway. "These are dark times, Glynda," he discloses, gesturing the woman forward. "And unfortunately for our Slayers, if they does not cooperate, their already-short life expectancy, will be cut _much_ shorter."

"When one dies, another is awakened," Glynda utters, face slightly falling.

Nodding, Jacques sighs. "Again: They need us more than we need them." As cruel as it was, the point the slayer had made was right: if one died, another awakened. The Council had a mission; they were never to lose sight of it. So if it took girls dying for the survival of humanity, so be it.

"Sir Riviere!"

Brow raised, Jacques smiles warmly at the tall, athletic woman. "Commander."

"I'll set us up for the briefing," Dolores parts, slightly bowing at the tall silver-haired man and the celeste-haired girl.

Nodding, Jacques' eyes follows Dolores out until she's out of sight. "Thank you," he starts, reaching out to stroke the girl's hair. "Once again, you've made me proud."

"Father . . . " the girl complains, fighting a smile.

"I find it interesting, my girl," Jacques starts, leading them through the secret hallway, "That the Council has, for centuries, conducted work that has saved mankind over and over again from the forces evil, yet no one will ever know . . . it is unrecognized . . . almost as if we never existed . . . and as if our cause has been no more relevant than a story in a fairytale."

Quickly frowning, the girl smiles then halfheartedly at her father.

"No father could ask for a better daughter," Jacques praises, ruffling the girl's hair.

Backing away, smiling broadly, the girl studies her usually reserved father. "What's going on, dad?"

Sighing, the man adjusts the knot on his tie.

"Dad?"

"We'll discuss it at the briefing," the man answers, now placing his hands in his pocket.

" _Dad_ ," the girl pressures, causing the man to crack a smile.

"You're just like your mother," the silver-haired man comments, causing the sky-haired girl's face to fall. Clearing his throat, Jacques smiles reassuringly at his kin. "Sorry about that, darling," he apologizes, realizing that the death of his ex-wife was still a heavy topic for the girl. "Miyu," he starts again, garnering the girl's attention, "About the briefing . . . "

"Yeah?"

Looking up to meet murky-red irises, the man sighs. "Darling, we are in grave danger."

"Aren't we always?"

"This time it's different."

"How so?"

Sighing, the man halts, causing the girl to stop, too. "It's different in that the Council, and this is strictly confidential, has no idea what to do."

Frowning, the girl searches her father's icy-greys. "You mean, you don't know what we're dealing with?"

"On the contrary," her father starts, reaching out to tilt her chin, "We know _exactly_ what we're dealing with."

"And?"

"And we're out of our league."

* * *

Sitting on the tombstone, the girl tenses when she hears shuffling. Narrowing her gaze on a darkened area, the girl flexes her jaw when tawny hair comes to view.

"We should stop meeting like this," a tall, red-eyed girl jokes, approaching the raven-haired slayer and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Slowly rolling her eyes, the dark-haired girl crosses her arms across her chest. "What do you want?"

Halting, Shizuru furrows her brows. "I take it they've told you," she guesses, as Natsuki grunts.

"And I take it you're back on payroll," Natsuki replies, smiling thinly at the girl.

"Sakomizu-"

"-I don't care."

Tensing, the tall, crimson-eyed girl licks her lips, well aware that the other girl was hurting.

"I think it's a good idea, to be honest," Natsuki states, shrugging.

"You do?"

"Well, yeah," Natsuki answers, brow raised. "I'm going back to Japan," she explains, as it sets in on the tall beauty. "I can protect my side of the hemisphere, and you can take on Europe, you know," she continues, feeling at ease. "This way the world has a better chance . . . with two active slayers."

" _Active_ ," Shizuru repeats, scoffing. "I was slaying long before the Council 'activated' me."

"True. But now you have resources," Natsuki rebuts, as Shizuru marvels at the emerald-eyed girl.

Now that she had her memories back, the differences between the two Natsuki's were undeniable. Whereas the old Natsuki was more compassionate, reckless, and stubborn, this new Natsuki was more distant, calculative, and arrogant.

"Say what you want about the Council," Natsuki continues, scoffing, "But those uptight snobs are powerful allies," she admits, pulling out her mobile. "I mean, I loath them," she adds, while texting. "But who doesn't hate their boss?" she finishes, looking up to see swirling reds studying her. "What?"

Tucking a strand of tawny hair behind her ear, Shizuru clears her throat. "Nothing."

" _Nothing_?" the dark-haired girl repeats, narrowing her gaze on the taller girl.

Shrugging, the tall beauty quickly frowns before looking away and avoiding piercing greens.

"You're obviously holding something in," Natsuki comments, rolling her eyes, "So what is it?"

"Nothing," Shizuru repeats, still avoiding the raven-haired girl.

Lowly growling, Natsuki stands up and puts her phone away. "You're lying," she states, glaring at the taller girl. "If I am hurting, you don't care," she starts, recalling how Shizuru abandoned her. "If I don't care, you hurt," she adds, scoffing. "I swear there's no **WINNING** with you!"

"Winning? Why does it have to be about ' _winning_ '?"

Upset, the dark-haired girl shakes her head as she approaches the tall beauty. "It took me _months_ to get over you," she discloses, as the taller girl tenses. "In fact, I'm still getting over you," she admits, no more than a foot away. "But I am in that place where I no longer blame myself for ruining us," she continues, leaning in. "I blame _you_ ," she finishes, leaning back and scowling at the red-eyed beauty.

Throat feeling heavy, the taller girl holds a sharp breath.

"Why can't you just stay away?" the emerald-eyed girl asks, looking away and scoffing. "We're not friends, Shizuru."

Eyes stinging, the tawny-haired girl looks down at the ground before balling up her fists. "Then why did you look for me?"

"What are you talking about?" Natsuki asks, pulling out her cell-phone once more.

"In Honduras," Shizuru clarifies, as the other girl texts. "Why did you look for me?"

"I already told you."

"Bullshit."

"Um, no," Natsuki challenges, looking away from her phone and meeting burning infernos. "Remember that thing about blaming myself?" Natsuki recalls, narrowing her gaze on the taller girl. "Well, when I looked for you I was ready to blame myself in case anything bad happened to you because I was too heartbroken to realize that you're an adult responsible for your own actions."

"So now you don't care?" Shizuru interrogates, scowling at the shorter girl. "Is that it? You don't care?"

"Why are you twisting my words?"

"Because it's what you meant."

"No," Natsuki rebuts, brows furrowed. "I meant that you're perfectly capable of making your own decisions, and that you're liable for the consequences of said-decisions."

Scoffing, Shizuru smiles thinly at the other girl. "Right. Thank you for that enlightenment, Natsuki, and for your vindication because," she adds, breathing more rapidly, "If a drunk-driver rams into my car and kills me, on my way home, I am a perfectly capable adult, so I, alone, am responsible for my untimely death."

Glaring at the other girl, Natsuki lowly growls before looking away. "What is it with you and mind games!?" she asks right before shaking her head. "You leave. You say it's best that we don't see each other . . . Yet you keep coming to me," the emerald-eyed girl calls out, furrowing her brows and facing the other slayer. "So what is it? What do you want? Hmm? What do you _want_ from me, Shizuru?"

Face falling, the taller girl sighs.

Slowly rolling her eyes, Natsuki scratches the back of her head. Shizuru had changed so much. Before, the red-eyed girl's intellect, maturity, and independent nature, laced with a tinge of entitlement, was alluring, but now it felt crippling, almost as if Shizuru's own intellect and maturity created a rift between her and her loved ones, all the while her independent nature isolated her from the rest of world. Even in her entitled ways, Shizuru's brattiness no longer reflected the adoration of a loving father and privileged life; it now reflected the absence of a life she once thought of real, which caused the beauty pain every time she is reminded of it.

"There's a snow-storm in northern Europe, which means that there's no flight out tomorrow," Natsuki states, changing the topic. "So because of the weather and because the Council is giving me a new watcher, I will probably stay in London for the remainder of the week."

Meeting piercing greens, the taller girl nods, holding a deep breath. She knew Natsuki was leaving, yet it didn't fail to surprise her and cause her pain.

Studying the solemn girl, Natsuki furrows her brows. "Don't look at me like that."

"Look at you how?"

"The way _everybody_ looks at me nowadays," the raven-haired girl clarifies, rolling her eyes. She was sick and tired of the comparisons, now that the everyone was on the same page. To Natsuki, she was exactly who she needed to be, so she didn't care for getting her memories back. If anything, getting her memories back called for unprecedented agony, and she had no time for distractions.

"You were right to call me out for not staying away, Natsuki," Shizuru admits, tucking a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "I guess I am not quite over you, like you are with me."

Meeting swirling reds, Natsuki flexes her jaw. "Don't say things like that to me either."

"Okay," Shizuru complies, smiling halfheartedly. "I really am sorry," she starts again, voice soft and sincere. "I failed to realize I was being a hypocrite."

"Yeah. OK," the raven-haired girl answers, pulling out her mobile again. "So you got the cemetery covered?" she asks, while texting.

Red eyes narrowed on the phone, Shizuru purses her lips.

"Shizuru?" Natsuki asks, looking up.

"What?"

"You've got the cemetery covered?"

"Yeah," the tall beauty answers, forcing a smile.

"Cool," the raven-haired girl replies, finishing her text. "Well, I'm gonna head out," the emerald-eyed beauty parts, placing her hands in her leather-jacket's pockets.

"Right."

Heading towards a motorcycle, the dark-haired girl mounts the bike and roars the engine to life before speeding off.

Alone, the tall beauty sighs. Frowning, she hears shuffling near some crypts. Pulling out her stake, she searches the area. Not finding an ambassador of evil, she shrugs and walks over to one of the cemetery benches. Sitting down, she stares at the full-moon.

"GYAH" a creature calls out, jumping down on the girl who proves to be rather acrobatic.

Jumping atop the top rail of the bench, the girl dodges the attack.

Grunting, the assailant lands on the bench. Opening his eyes, he sees, as it is reflected on the ground, a shadow growing bigger. Quickly, he rolls to his back and uses both his feet to fend the girl off.

Losing her balance, Shizuru, about to fall off the bench, uses her athletic capabilities to back-flip and land swiftly on the ground. Quickly studying her environment, she smirks at the creature who bears his fangs at her. Running toward a crypt, she climbs atop it.

Quick to chase his prey, the hooded assailant follows the girl up the crypt.

"Well, well, well," he starts, snarling and stalking over to the beauty. "Beau'i'ful nigh' to kill a girl, eh?"

Moon shining brightly behind her, the tall beauty narrows her gaze at her mortal enemy who cautiously approaches her.

"Not much of talker, are ye?" he continues, golden, gleaming eyes locked on the wooden stake. "I'll make ye talk," he mutters to himself before lunging at the girl.

Catching the vamp in a headlock, Shizuru is indifferent when her stake falls off her hands. Vamp locked on a choke-hold, she maneuvers him to the edge of the crypt, flailing him in the air before using her telekinesis powers to pull out a weapon hidden in her ankle. Reaching out to grab the floating knife, she decapitates the vampire, turning him to dust. Sighing, she cleans herself off and uses her powers once more to levitate her stake to her awaiting hand. Fingers encircling the wooden weapon, she tenses when she hears a man screaming. Quickly, she jumps atop crypts until she reaches one of the further corners in the cemetery, near the woods.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the man screams, as the girl tries to calm him down.

Crimson eyes locked onto obsidian hair, she inadvertently breaks through her stake, getting sawdust on her hand.

"LOOK AT ME!" the orange-haired girl pleas, gripping the male's head."I will keep you grounded."

Whining, the male falls to his knees, as the girl massages his back.

Screaming in pain, the boy starts growing, tearing out of his clothes.

Backing away, the girl stares the beast into its giant, golden irises. "I'm sorry," she whispers before raising up her hand. Palm open, she whispers an incantation before closing her hand in a tight fist and causing the werewolf to collapse onto the floor.

From the shadows, Shizuru wipes away the remaining sawdust.

"Hello again, Shizuru," the orange-haired girl greets, aware that they had an audience.

Emerging from the shadows, Shizuru raises a brow at the limp, nocturnal creature.

"He's been losing control," Mai discloses, kneeling down to pet the werewolf's shiny coat.

Brows furrowing, Shizuru kneels down, too, to be at eye-level with the other witch, while observing a werewolf Reito.

"I know you're not my biggest fan," Mai starts, meeting piercing crimsons, "But everything I did was for _her_ , as selfish as-"

"-It was incredibly selfish of you."

"I know."

Sighing, Shizuru stands up. "Why are you here?"

Standing up, Mai places her hands in her back-pocket. "Something is coming," she states before sighing and looking down at Reito. "Don't you feel it?" she asks, now searching distant infernos. Inhaling the night air, the orange-haired girl closes her eyes. "Hmm," she utters, as the night air sends shivers down her spine.

Feeling it too, Shizuru tenses. Aside from getting nightly visits from the First Slayer, Shizuru has had an overwhelming sense of dread weighing in on her.

"If it makes you feel better," Mai starts again, opening her sapphire eyes, "Natsuki closed herself off from me, too."

Running a hand through her tawny hair, Shizuru briefly looks away from the orange-haired girl. "What are you going to do with him?" she asks, eyeing an unconscious Reito.

"Wait it out," Mai answers, smiling warmly at the boy. "He'll come back to me. He always does."

Jaw clenching, Shizuru scowls at the love-struck girl. "I have to go."

"Of course, you do," Mai concurs, smiling at the taller girl. "I heard you've been activated," she continues, causing Shizuru to tense. "Congrats."

Biting her tongue, tired of arguing over the word-choice "active", Shizuru nods, as she runs a hand through her hair.

"And when you're less pissed at me, I'd like to talk to you," Mai parts, face stern and serious.

Flinching, Shizuru quickly grinds her teeth before nodding.

"It's important," Mai adds, as the other girl nods once more, still avoiding eye-contact. "I know it doesn't make much of a difference to you, but I really am sorry."

Inadvertently balling up her fists, Shizuru locks eyes with the other girl's sapphires.

Sensing anger, Mai takes one step back. In uncomfortable silence, Mai clears her throat.

Backing away, Shizuru turns her back on the other witch before taking off running. As much as she tried not to be resentful, she could not help hating Mai more than anything in the world. It was Mai's fault, after all, for conjuring up a plan to fuck up her life. Even worse, Mai had stolen her best friend from her. Sure, once she knew of Reito's role in all of this, she was angry, and she distanced herself from him, but that didn't mean that she wanted him to run to the arms of the other witch, especially when she needed her best friend more than anything.

Exhausted, Shizuru stops at a bus stop. It was almost sunrise.

"My, oh, my," a voice coos, as a smile sneaks up on Shizuru's face. "Are you an angel?"

Licking her lips, Shizuru faces a green-skinned demon who flashes a bright smile at her before winking.

"Tell me everything," Lorne starts, sitting down beside the girl.

Pushing a strand of tawny hair behind her ear, Shizuru sighs before scooting closer to the familiar demon. Reclining her head against his shoulder, she reaches out to grab his hand.

"You're gonna be okay," Lorne comforts, kissing the top of her head. "But, love, Nao told me about Natsuki," he discloses, feeling the girl tense. "You know you can't fully hold them accountable for what they did, right?" he asks, not surprised when Shizuru jolts out of her seat.

"DON'T-"

"-I've lived longer than most," Lorne starts, gesturing the girl to sit back down. "For thousands of years, I've seen the errors of man's ways, but none of them were as unique as yours."

" _Unique_?" Shizuru repeats before scoffing.

"We hurt the ones we love the most, darling. You know that."

Tense, Shizuru runs a hand through her hair.

"Why aren't you with Natsuki?" Lorne asks, searching fiery infernos. "You do love her, don't you?"

Words caught in her mouth and heart decelerating, Shizuru fights incoming tears as she gawks at her so-called friend.

Sighing, Lorne stands up. "Love makes us do crazy things, kiddo," he comforts, reaching out to rest his hands on the girl's tense shoulders. "You're not like Natsuki; you didn't have the luxury of having childhood friends to fight by your side; you didn't have a mother who constantly reminded you of her unconditional love; and you didn't have a Watcher who loved you like a daughter," he starts, face sincere. "They did this to you because they loved her too much to let her go," he presses, pausing. "And isn't that what you're doing? Letting her go because you love her? Because you have strength that simple-minded humans lack? Shizuru . . . you're _special_ , and they're human. And humans make mistakes."

"So now I'm a mistake," Shizuru remarks, brushing off Lorne's hands and turning her back on him.

"You're more than a mistake," Lorne states, standing beside the girl. "Give yourself more credit, girl!" he jokes before scratching the back of his head. "Look, you can hate me. You can hate them. You can hate the world. But at the end of the day, there's really no one to blame, not when nearly everyone held accountable is human, love . . . So tell me: are you really going to blame them for being human? More importantly, isn't humanity what you're willing to die for . . . your reason for fighting."

Searching red-irises, Shizuru sighs before looking away from the tall, fashionable, green-skinned demon.

"The world is full of darkness," Lorne starts again, looking up at the moon. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Looking up at the moon, Shizuru shrugs.

"Do you know what the world would look like without a little light?" the demon asks before scoffing. "Because I've lived through the dark-ages, girlie, and I gotta say that a little light makes a huge difference in the world."

"Who cares?" Shizuru utters, causing the demon to crack a smile.

"Your aura used to shine more brightly than anything I've ever seen," he comments, causing the girl to raise a brow. "And you're gonna need it to break the darkness that's coming."

Recalling her discussion with Mai, Shizuru stares into the red pools of her demon friend.

"I had a vision," he confesses, face falling. "I saw death . . . " he utters, looking down at the ground. "I heard it. I smelled it. I saw it."

Resting her hand on the demon's back, Shizuru tries to comfort her distraught friend.

"Something is coming," Lorne states, resting his hand atop Shizuru's. "And when it does, you have to be prepared because the darkness will try to devour you."

"Devour Shizuru?" a voice remarks, emerging from the shadows. "That's weird," a raven-haired girl comments, sitting atop a bike rail.

"Natsuki!" Lorne exclaims, rushing over to hug the other slayer. "You look," the demon starts, studying the girl wearing a biker outfit. "Leathery."

"Thanks . . . "

"Well," Lorne starts again, looking between the two girls, "I'll leave you former flames to it," he parts, causing both girls to roll their eyes. "TOODLES!" he calls out before disappearing.

"Natsuki," Shizuru greets, tugging a strand of tawny hair behind her ear. "What are you-"

"-I didn't like how I left things," Natsuki interrupts before smiling awkwardly.

"You didn't?"

"No."

"Why not?" Shizuru asks, sitting on the bike rail beside the other slayer.

"Because," Natsuki starts, jumping off the rail, "Because I was angry. And because I was wrong," she admits, as Shizuru's heart begins to accelerate. "About a lot things actually, and I know I'm not being fair to you but-"

"-It's not your fault," Shizuru interjects, brows furrowed. "None of this is our fault."

"Yeah. I know," Natsuki agrees before pausing. "But the thing is, Shizuru . . . I think we _can_ be friends."

Feeling like a thousand swords just rammed into her gut, the tawny-haired girl forces a smile. "' _Friends'_?"

"Well, yeah," Natsuki starts, meeting swirling reds. "I mean, we're going to be working together and possibly fight beside each other at some point-"

"-We've already done that," Shizuru comments, recalling how she died for the second time fighting beside Natsuki. "It didn't work out."

"Well . . . ok," Natsuki replies, brow raised at the suddenly frigid girl. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I am," Shizuru lies, smiling thinly before frowning. "Actually, no. I am not," she corrects, standing up. "Natsuki, you were right the first time: we're **not** friends."

Scoffing, Natsuki crosses her arms across her chest, shaking her head. "You're so selfish . . . " she utters under breath.

"Selfish?" Shizuru repeats before scoffing. "Natsuki . . . when it comes to you, I'll always want more," the beauty confesses, causing the other girl to tense. "So yes. I am selfish in that I can't bear the thought of being close to you without touching you."

Flinching, the dark-haired girl gulps.

"It's funny how I understood something today," Shizuru starts again before sighing. "Do you know why only **one** girl is chosen in every generation?"

"No."

"Because there can **only** be **one** ," the tall beauty answers, brows furrowing. "Look at what happens when two slayers co-exist," she adds, face falling. "We can **never** be friends Natsuki because we were **never** meant to exist in each other's lives."

"Interesting," Natsuki remarks before rolling her eyes. "But I'm not fond of rules, so fuck that."

Smile creeping up on her face, Shizuru giggles. "Don't start, Natsuki," she warns, now fully smiling at dark-haired girl. In truth, Shizuru loved Natsuki's rebelliousness.

Smiling back, Natsuki eases. "We have always defied the odds, Shizuru," she starts again, feeling an incoming blush. "Look, I want you in my life," she admits, approaching the taller girl. "Let's give this friendship thing a try," she suggests, causing the other girl to stiffen. "Besides you won't be as tempted to touch me if I'm on the other side of the world," she comforts, grinning.

Rolling her eyes, Shizuru shakes her head at the shorter girl.

"And I know it hurts," Natsuki continues, emerald locked onto ruby. "But who knows . . . maybe our anger and resentment will diminish if we mend through it . . . if we slowly start getting back a small fraction of what we used to have."

"We were never friends."

"You mean, we were never 'just' friends," Natsuki clarifies, searching solemn infernos. "But in a lot of ways, you were my best friend."

Looking away, the taller runs a hand through her hair before reluctantly nodding her head. "Fine. Let's start next week," she compromises, choosing the starting point of their newfound friendship right when Natsuki would depart back to Japan.

Frowning, Natsuki sighs. She knew what Shizuru was doing. "So I guess this is the last time we'll see each other, huh?"

Controlling her breathing while her heart dropped to the floor, the tall girl manages to keep her composure. "It's just," she begins, pushing a strand of tawny hair behind her ear, "I just-I just wish I had more self-restraint . . . "

Perking up, Natsuki stalks closer to the taller girl.

Frozen, the taller girl stares at the shorter girl who is inches away from her. Holding her breath, the beauty is speechless when the shorter girl embraces her in a tight hug.

"I guess you have better self-restraint than me," Natsuki jokes, breaking away and inhaling the last whiff of the girl's lavender and vanilla scent.

Blushing, the taller girl wraps her arms around herself, missing the warmth of the raven-haired girl. "I love you, Natsuki," she whispers before gasping.

Flinching, the raven-haired girl stays rooted to the ground. "Um, yeah," she remarks before gulping. "Me too."

Avoiding emeralds, Shizuru looks up at the orange-hued sky. "It's sunrise," she comments, still too embarrassed to look at Natsuki.

"Yeah," the raven-haired girl remarks, staring at the tawny-haired girl whose tawny strands glistened under the golden sun-rays. "I, um, should go," she states, causing the other girl to stiffen.

"Yes," Shizuru answers before clearing her throat. "Of course. You must be tired after all the bullshit the Council put you through."

"Not really. Just a bit," the cocky, emerald-eyed girl remarks, shrugging.

Cracking a smile, Shizuru finally meets glowing emeralds. "Friends?"

Nodding, Natsuki waves her hand before walking away.

Watching the girl disappear, Shizuru sighs when she can no longer see raven hair. Arms still wrapped around her herself, she starts walking back to her Porsche. And during her drive, she thinks about her sure-to-fail attempt to be Natsuki's friend; it was impossible. But it was what Natsuki wanted, and she could not deny Natsuki one more thing nor cause her any more pain. There was also the other matter regarding the First Slayer. Given the premonitions she's been having and that others connected to magic were having, something bad was coming, and the First Slayer was reaching out to her. Sakomizu advised her to make contact with her, but even with the ex-Watcher's endorsement, something about the First Slayer elicited fear in her, almost as if the First Slayer wanted something of hers, and that it would be something Shizuru would not be willing to give. Sighing, Shizuru pulls up to her estate, only to find an orange-haired girl playing with Kiyohime at her front lawn. Tense, Shizuru makes her toward the witch who waves shyly at her. And despite her abhorred feelings toward the orange-haired girl, the beauty knew they needed to talk.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Liability**

 _Running through the forest, the girl hides behind a tree. Breathing shallowly, she peeks out, only to come face-to-face with a red-eyed beast who snarls at her. Frozen, the girl steps back, only to fall._

 _Large beast hovering above the girl, he howls before diving in for a bite._

 _Jumping down, the dark-haired girl lands atop the beast. Gripping its neck, she chokes it and tries to cut off its breath long enough to calm it down._

 _Wriggling around and flailing the girl on top of him, the werewolf scrambles around, trying to free himself._

 _"NOW!" the girl calls out, as she holds on tight to the werewolf's fur. Seeing an arrow miss the wolf, she grunts._

 _Angered and provoked, the wolf jolts back and forth with enough strength and momentum to throw off the girl._

 _Flying in the air, the girl closes her eyes when she's about to land on the ground. Instead, she feels nothing. Opening her eyes, she sees that she is close to the ground but not on it; she was levitating._

 _Coming out of the shadows, a red-eyed girl smiles reassuringly at the emerald-girl before gently laying her on the ground. Crimson eyes locked onto the werewolf that lunges at her, she raises her hand, palm facing away from her and stunning the beast. Concentrating, she slowly starts turning her hand to face her. When her palm faces her she quickly lowers her hand as an arrow pierces through the werewolf's body._

 _Whining, the beast, not fully knocked out, starts dragging itself to the tawny-haired girl._

 _Another arrow striking its torso, the werewolf collapses onto the ground, closing its eyes._

 _"There, there, big guy," a voice coos, making her way to the tall, crimson-eyed beauty._

 _"If it isn't the expert shot," another voice remarks, also walking toward Shizuru._

 _"Hey," the redhead starts, smirking, "I told you I wasn't big on crossbows."_

 _"You just point and shoot," Natsuki argues, scoffing._

 _"Whatever," Nao remarks, shrugging, "Thank god my cousin was here," she continues, smirk growing. "Good to have someone who knows what she's actually doing."_

 _Lowly growling, Natsuki scowls at the redhead._

 _Kissing the slayer's cheek, Shizuru grabs the raven-haired girl's hand._

 _Grunting, Natsuki pulls away from the other girl._

 _Frowning, Shizuru searches emerald irises. "Are you mad?"_

 _"Of course, I'm mad," Natsuki states, brows deeply furrowed._

 _Face falling, the beauty looks down at the ground. Maybe, she shouldn't have interfered in Natsuki's work._

 _"But not at you," the slayer clarifies, reaching out to grab the other girl's hand. "I'm just disappointed in myself . . . Shizuru, I can't afford to fail. **Ever**." _

_Feeling a crack in her heart ant not knowing what to say, Shizuru brings up her girlfriend's hand and gently kisses it. Natsuki was right; slayers don't exactly have the life-expectancy of a normal human. Tightening her hold on her girlfriend's hand, Shizuru reclines her head on the raven-haired girl's shoulder._

 _Sighing, Natsuki leans over to kiss the top of tawny hair. She hated it when she was morbid, but it was the truth. Death was always in the back of her mind._

 _Pretending to examine her nails, Nao sneaks glances at the couple. Natsuki seemed deep in thought, and Shizuru, knowing her all too well, was hurting. Sighing, the redhead looks away. No matter how happy the girls were, there was always an underlying sadness that enveloped them, and Nao felt like she was about to explode. The guilt was consuming her._

* * *

"What do you want?" the tawny-haired girl greets, walking past the orange-haired girl. Unlocking her front door, the beauty steps in as the younger girl trails behind her.

"Why must you always assume I'm a selfish bitch?" Mai counters, quickly regretting her words. "Sorry."

Rolling her eyes, Shizuru sets her things down at the end-table, as Kiyohime runs down the spiral staircase to greet her. "So what is it?" she asks, petting the fluffy dog.

"The other side has been somewhat . . . imbalanced," Mai starts, brows furrowed. "Have you felt it?"

Jaw clenched, Shizuru nods. Lately, every spell she's cast has been overwhelming powerful or underwhelmingly weak. It _never_ turned out as planned. Not to mention, her talk with Lorne confirmed what she had been suspecting: something was off in the supernatural realm. Shizuru just hated that she was one of the better equipped mortals to deal with it; she had been through enough already and was, in fact, still dealing with a lot.

"I had a vision," Mai begins, hugging herself, worry clear in her face. "Well, it was more like a feeling," she continues, closing her eyes, shuddering. "I felt . . . _nothing_."

Brow raised, Shizuru gestures Kiyohime to run along. "What?"

" _Nothing_ ," Mai repeats, searching infernos. "It was like this . . . this dark void consumed everything and everyone, and all that was left was . . . darkness . . . _nothing_."

Flexing her jaw, Shizuru runs a hand through her hair. "And when did you have this vision?" she asks, externally composed but internally panicking. If what Mai and Lorne said was true, this just confirmed why the First Slayer was trying to communicate with her. Something bad was coming.

"Hmm. . . About," Mai starts, pondering, "I think, two, maybe, three months ago or so?" she answers, meeting intimidating crimsons. "Reito and I have traveled the world searching for answers. We've been to shamans, witches, wiccans . . . heck, even deities to get clarity and . . . "

"And what?" Shizuru pressures, voice soft.

"Everyone's too scared to talk," the orange-haired witch answers, sighing. "That's why I came to you," she admits, looking down at the floor. "And look, I know you hate me . . . " she continues, pausing and giving Shizuru the opportunity to say that she didn't hate her. Scoffing when the taller girl remains silent, Mai looks up at the eyes of the girl who would hate her no matter what. "But you're the strongest witch I know," she finishes, as the taller girl gathers her belongings.

"I'll look into it," Shizuru assures, going up the stairs. "Let yourself out," she parts, not looking back.

* * *

Despite a rather rough night trying to process what Mai and she discussed, Shizuru tried to carry on with her normal, morning routine. Changing into her workout clothes, Shizuru runs 10 miles on the treadmill and shadow-boxes for an hour before showering. Clean and dressed, she descends downstairs for her morning tea, as she goes through e-mails.

Now enjoying some downtime with Kiyohime outside, Shizuru perks up when she hears a familiar engine roaring in her estate. Jogging, the tall beauty makes her way to the front of the mansion and is greeted by the sight of her driver making small-talk with a raven-haired girl.

" . . . Yes! The Arpilla RS 125 is quite the beauty," Natsuki agrees, as she and driver daydream about owning one. "I took one out for a spin the other day, actually."

"REALLY?" the young man asks, eyes full of wonder. "How was it?"

"TRY AMAZING!" Natsuki coos before hearing a dog bark and run up to her. "Hey there, little girl," the dark-haired girl greets, kneeling down to pet and kiss the fluffy dog.

"Um, Natsuki?" Shizuru greets, brow raised as she, too, pets the pup. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd take you out for breakfast," the pale beauty answers, standing up, chuckling when Kiyohime pounces on her, using Natsuki's abdomen as leverage to balance her, as the pup, too, stands up, wagging her tail.

" _Why_?" Shizuru automatically replies, sounding more rude than she intended to sound.

"Because," Natsuki starts, ruffling the dog's head, "I thought we'd give this 'friends' thing a try," the girl explains before scoffing. "Don't tell me you hit your head last night," she teases, smiling.

Melting at the sight of a happy Natsuki, Shizuru rolls her eyes. "Funny."

"Or is that blonde hair of yours finally taking over your brain," the emerald-eyed girl presses, fully aware that Shizuru hated blonde jokes.

"Cute," the taller girl states in a monotonic tone, smiling thinly.

Grinning, the emerald-eyed girl turns her hand into a fist and brings up for the young man. "See you later, man," she parts, as the driver fist-bumps her.

"If you'll excuse me," the male parts, slightly bowing at the tawny-haired girl before excusing himself.

Brow raised, Natsuki scoffs. "I forgot you have that effect on people," she comments, referring to how the man bowed at the heiress. "Must be nice," she teases, smoldering her eyes at the taller girl in a playful mood.

"Well, you're in an _awfully_ good mood," Shizuru states, annoyed.

Scoffing, the raven-haired girl reaches out to stroke tawny-hands before stopping herself. Retreating her hand, Natsuki gulps and places it inside her jacket's pocket. "Sorry," she begins, avoiding crimsons. "Force of habit," she explains, as Shizuru tucks a strand of tawny hair behind her ear.

"Are you-are you sure about this breakfast thing?" the beauty asks, regretting it as soon as she sees Natsuki's expression fall.

Shrugging, Natsuki continues to avoid infernos. "I guess . . . Well, I guess, I'm not that hungry," she lies, face falling even more. "Besides," she starts again, sighing, "This whole thing is super fucking complicated and-"

"Natsuki!" Shizuru interrupts, forcing a smile. "I'm starving," she lies, fake smile broadening. "And we can adults about it and just . . . eat," she adds, hopeful. "With minimal talk," she jokes, although really hoping that was the case.

"So . . . breakfast?" Natsuki asks, voice and face hopeful.

Nodding, Shizuru forces a smile. The last thing she wanted to do was have breakfast with Natsuki, nor anything involving the two of them alone together. But she couldn't help herself. She loved Natsuki more than anything in the world, and though she knew that spending time with the slayer would cause her immense pain, seeing as to how they could never be together, she was okay with enduring said-pain, as long as it cheered Natsuki up. Besides, the girl was in town for a week. And after that week of torture, Shizuru could start the healing process, once again, and go back to living a Natsuki-less life.

Walking away and toward her bike, Natsuki grabs a helmet.

Realizing that going to breakfast meant riding behind Natsuki on her bike, Shizuru's heart accelerates at an incredible speed. She was not ready for this.

Walking back to the girl, Natsuki extends out the helmet for Shizuru to take.

Staring at the safety equipment, Shizuru inadvertently chews on her bottom lip.

"Shizuru?" Natsuki calls out, still extending out the helmet for Shizuru to take. "You ok?"

Quick to nod, sporadically, Shizuru nabs the helmet and clumsily puts it on. "R-r-ready."

Brow raised, Natsuki chuckles. "Here," she begins, inching the girl and doing the straps, which Shizuru, of course, forgot to do. " _Now_ , you're ready," the emerald-eyed girl comments, walking back towards the bike and mounting it.

Fighting a blush, Shizuru awkwardly smiles back, trying really hard not to think about how hot Natsuki looked on that bike.

Roaring the engine to life, the dark-haired girl stares at the odd, tawny-haired girl who stands still, talking to herself.

"Just get on the bike, Shizuru," the tawny-haired girl tells herself. "And whatever you do, DON'T wrap your hands around her . . . DON'T touch her . . . Just use the back of the bike or something," she advises herself, rolling her eyes at herself, extremely displeased at how she needed an actual pep-talk just to ride a motorcycle; she truly felt helpless.

"YOU SURE YOU'RE OKAY?" Natsuki calls out, considering turning off the bike to check on the girl.

Forcing a smile, the tawny-haired girl rushes to mount the bike, placing her hands in the back, gripping the seat and not Natsuki, to steady herself.

Confused, Natsuki peeks back and sees Shizuru gripping the tail-end of the bike. Turning back around, smiling thinly, she puts on her aviators and takes off.

* * *

Arriving at the diner, Natsuki instinctively pulls out the chair for the tawny-haired girl.

Quick to force a smile, Shizuru sits down and pushes a strand of tawny-hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

Shrugging, Natsuki sits down and nervously taps her fingers along the table, as they await the waitress.

"Have you . . . been here before?" Shizuru asks, trying to make small-talk.

Shaking her head, Natsuki is distracted by a group of American girls who enter the diner, reminiscing about last night's events.

Peeking at the group of young and attractive females, Shizuru raises a brow when she catches Natsuki checking out the blonde.

"Good morning, ladies!" the waitress greets, garnering the girls' attention. "How can I get you started today?" she asks, smiling at the girls.

"Iced tea for me, please," Shizuru requests, smiling back.

"Coffee," Natsuki states, smirking when the American blonde looks her way. Licking her lips, she smiles at the foreigner who smiles back.

Tensing, Shizuru smiles at the waitress excuses who herself to fetch their beverages. "You're being rude," she remarks in a calm and passive tone.

"Am I?" Natsuki challenges in a mirthful tone, fully aware that Shizuru hated it when she checked-out other girls, even if she did it only to annoy her.

"And now you're being annoying," the tawny-haired girl adds, rolling her eyes when Natsuki's grin broadens.

"Oh relax," Natsuki eases, chuckling. "We both know you're the most beautiful girl here," she states in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'm just being nice to the girl."

Scoffing at the emerald-eyed beauty, Shizuru lightly shakes her in a disproving manner. She very much wanted to shove that blonde's pretty face hardly onto the table to break that perfect nose and stain that perfect blonde hair with her own blood.

"Don't tell me your jealous?" Natsuki probes, not able to fight a goofy grin. Truth was she wanted to get a reaction out Shizuru, and she just did. The crimson-eyed beauty was most definitely jealous, which meant that she still cared for her.

Giving Natsuki a scolding look, Shizuru smiles thinly before speaking. " _Friends_ , Natsuki. Remember?" she adds, warning the other slayer not to cross the line.

Flexing her jaw, Natsuki stares hardly at the girl before sighing. "Why can't we be together, Shizuru?" she asks, looking outside the diner's window. "It's stupid that we're both clearly attracted to each other, and want to be together, yet aren't together," she adds, scoffing. "So tell me again, why you keep pushing me away?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Shizuru states, resting her elbow on the table and then resting her head on her palm. She was in no mood to revisit this topic of conversation.

"QUIT SAYING THAT!" the emerald-eyed beauty exclaims, garnering looks from the American girls and other bystanders. "Look, I know I've been a dick, ok? But that's only because I _still_ want you, and I can't have you . . . which doesn't make any sense because I _know_ you want me."

"Don't . . . don't push it, Natsuki. We can't-we can't be together," Shizuru states, controlling her emotions. "It's dangerous."

"WHY?"

"Because you're a slayer; I am a slayer; and we have enemies who'll waste no time extorting our relationship . . . You know it's true: You're a _liability_ to me, and I'm a _liability_ to you."

"So?" the raven-haired girl challenges, frustrated that they were having this argument, _again_. "Every life is a liability to a slayer! What difference does it make?!"

"The difference is that I would let the world burn, if meant saving you," the beauty automatically replies, realizing that she was talking aloud. Sitting up, she furrows her brows as she stares at the table, avoiding piercing emeralds.

Tense, the raven-haired girl sighs. She'd do the same for Shizuru, which went against everything she was taught as a Slayer.

 _Running a hand through her bloodied lip, the raven-haired girl growls, as the zombies smash through her patio furniture. "GODDAMMIT!" she exclaims, running toward her mother's shovel. Gripping the yard weapon, she twirls it, as she sprints toward one of the zombies that is stuck in a lawn chair. Jumping atop the patio table, the slayer slides on its glass, as she cuts through the zombie's head, decapitating it. Sliding off the table, the girl somersaults herself back to her feet, as she dodges another series of zombie attacks. Twirling the shovel, she blocks the zombie's attacks. Spinning, she uses the shaft of the shovel to strike the zombie, ramming the stick through his throat._

 _Falling to his feet, the zombie spews out a mixture of green and blue blood as it tries to piece together its deteriorating neck._

 _Tossing the shovel to her other hand, Natsuki swings the weapon like a baseball bat and cuts its head off. " **Fuck**. . ." she utters, look at the disarray in her backyard. "How the **hell** am I going to explain this to mom!?" she exclaims, lunging and spearing the shovel into their cherry-tree. _

_"Robbery," Sakomizu suggests, emerging from the shadows._

 _Scoffing, Natsuki shakes her head. "Seriously, dude?" she states, unimpressed. "That was our excuse two weeks ago when that goblin dweeb fucked up my kitchen and living room."_

 _Taking off his glasses, the man begins cleaning them with the helm of his coat, deep in thought. "What about," he begins, pausing, "What about a party?"_

 _"As in, 'I will get in trouble for throwing a party' party?" Natsuki asks, rolling her eyes. "Gee. Way to be considerate, 'mate'," the dark-haired girl mocks, crossing her arms across her chest. "What if I just tell her?" she suggests, tensing._

 _"Tell her what?"_

 _"The truth."_

 _Tensing, the plump man holds his breath to control himself. "Absolutely no," he finally says, crushing emeralds._

 _"But-"_

 _"-NO!" the usually-reserved man exclaims, causing the young girl to flinch. "Natsuki, you must understand," he begins, calming down, "The grave danger you'd be putting yourself in and your mother in, if your enemies found out about her."_

 _"I'd make sure she'd be safe-"_

 _"Fine," Sakomuzi agrees, face growing stern. "Let's say you tell her. Let's say she believes you. Let's say we teach her the protocol. And let's say you tuck her in, tell her not to worry, and leave her at a safe place," he continues, expression darkening. "What makes you think she'd stay put?" he challenges, giving the slayer a knowing look. "Do you really think your mother, who loves you more than anything in the world, will stay put knowing that her daughter is out there risking her life?" he probes, shaking his head. "OF COURSE NOT!" he exclaims, raising his voice and putting his glasses back on. "She'd follow you anywhere and everywhere. And you know what? She'd eventually be caught," the man promises, hands in pockets. "Then what would you do?" he challenges, causing Natsuki to pale. "Would you be able to focus on your mission? Would you be able to ignore your mother's screams as a demon, vampire or evil entity holds her life hostage to toy with you? Can you work with that? Live with that? Will you choose a family of strangers over your mother? How about a town? And the world?" the man interrogates, already knowing the answer. "Your mother cannot know; if she did, she'd be a **liability** , and you damn well know it." _

It was the argument that haunted her for as long as she could remember: the risk of being open with someone in her line of work. It made sense, and she knew it; they had to be apart because if they were together, they would endanger the other, especially now that Shizuru was activated as a slayer again and would officially be reintroduced to the hardship and burden of being chosen. "Fine. I'll behave," the emerald-eyed girl promises, voice laced with hurt and guilt.

Wanting to reach out to grab the pale girl's hand, Shizuru fights her instincts. She had to stop.

Beverages brought out to them, the duo order their platters and eat their breakfast laced with forced small-talk and awkward silence.

* * *

After dropping off the girl at home, Natsuki fights the instinct to walk the beauty to her porch. She knew what she would do if she did.

Rushing to her front door, Shizuru waves goodbye at the beautiful, raven-haired girl before rushing inside and quickly closing the door. "Phew," she manages to say, blushing. This 'friend' thing was turning out to be much harder than she imagined.

Quickly, she makes her way to her bedroom to avoid lingering questions that her staff and friends may have, regarding her relationship with Natsuki.

Closing her bedroom door, Shizuru sits down at the foot of her bed. Massaging her much-too-stiff neck, she sighs. It was going to be a long week, having Natsuki around.

* * *

Spending the most of the day training, the raven-haired girl mounts her bike once night sets in; it was time to go to work. Deciding to try her luck at the cemetery in the outskirts of town, Natsuki contemplates calling the other slayer.

Opting against it, considering that she had already guilt-tripped Shizuru into breakfast, Natsuki to stick to her decision and give them space.

Parking her bike, Natsuki pulls out the stake hidden in her jacket. Tossing the weapon from hand to hand, as she whistles, Natsuki patrols the cemetery.

Hearing a snarl, she races towards it, stopping when she finds a tawny-haired girl running up a wall, only to somersault off of it, landing behind the vampire and staking it from the back.

Dusting herself off, Shizuru tenses, sensing someone. Pretending not to notice, she pulls her hair up in a ponytail, revealing her neck.

Mesmerized by the girl's beauty, gleaming under the starlit sky, Natsuki stays rooted to the ground.

Stretching, Shizuru manages to sneak her hand inside her boot to pull a throwing knife. Hiding it in the sleeve of her jacket, she locates her possible target's location. Within the fraction of a second, she throws the knife before chasing after it, stake at hand.

Barely dodging the weapon, Natsuki finds herself being pinned to a tree trunk by a combat-ready, tawny-haired girl.

Stake pricking Natsuki's chest, Shizuru, inches away from Natsuki's lips, breathes shallowly onto the pale beauty's face. "Wh-what are you doing here?" the confused, crimson-eyed girl asks in between breaths.

"Patrolling," Natsuki answers, still pinned to the tree.

"Did you . . . did you follow me?" Shizuru asks, still catching her breath.

Shaking her head, Natsuki's gaze lowers to plump, pink lips. Subconsciously, she licks her own lips.

Realizing how awkwardly close they were, Shizuru backs away, hugging her arms across her chest.

Dusting the tree bark out of her jacket, Natsuki takes a step closer to the other slayer, heart beating thunderously.

Tensing, the taller girl avoids penetrating greens. This was awkward at best.

Bold, Natsuki takes another step closer to the girl. Extending out her hand, she grips the girl's chin, running her thumb along the girl's bottom lip.

Melting into the beauty's touch, Shizuru contemplates doing the right thing and back away, but before she could, the other slayer leans in for a kiss.

It is a slow and gentle kiss.

Wanting so badly to bite into Natsuki's bottom lip and suck on it, the taller girl pulls away from the kiss. Blushing, she backs away, scared, and takes off running.

Faster, Natsuki takes off after the girl and pins her down to the ground. On top of the beauty, Natsuki caresses Shizuru's beloved, delicate face.

Frozen, the wine-eyed girl gets lost on dazzling emeralds. "Natsuki?" she calls out, gulping.

"Mmm," the raven-haired girl hums, tracing patterns on the tawny-haired girl's lips and jawline.

"We _can't_."

Smirk forming, the emerald-eyed girl halts her caressing before gripping Shizuru's hands, intertwining them with hers, and pining them to the ground. Raven hair dropping down and tickling Shizuru's face, the dark-haired girl leans in, lips grazing the other girl's lips, barely touching.

Using her slayer strength to break free, Shizuru immediately wraps her arms around Natsuki's neck and pulls the girl closer to her, crushing their lips.

Quick to kiss back, the dark-haired girl smiles when the other girl starts tugging, rather hardly at her raven locks, before wrapping her legs around her waist.

Hitting their hips together, Shizuru moves away from the girl's mouth and begins nibbling on the girl's neck, biting it, kissing it, and licking it.

Moaning, Natsuki desperately searches for the other girl's lips.

When their lips meet once more, Shizuru hardly pushes Natsuki off of her.

Now straddling the tawny-haired girl, Natsuki, breathing shallowly, searches bright infernos. "I'm-I'm sorry . . . " she utters right before Shizuru sits up and pushes her down to the ground.

Now being the one straddling, Shizuru removes her top and undoes her ponytail, letting her hair down.

Gulping, the blushing raven-haired girl cannot help but gawk at the red-eyed beauty.

Chewing on her lower lip, the older girl sinks back down to Natsuki and begins making out with her, rather roughly before working her way south.

* * *

 **A/N: yeah, it's been a while . . . sorry about that, but I will try to finish this story by the end of this year. Also, I guess I should thank Hookedonreading for motivating me to continue. I guess I needed that little push lol. Thanks y'all :)**


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